Corrupted Memories
by Pixilated Pixie Princess
Summary: When the country of Isvan is threatened by dark magic Gray will have to make a choice; either leave Fairy Tail and return to fight for his homeland, or stay with his guild and let it be tainted and torn apart by darkness.
1. Heading North

Corrupted Memories

by Pixilated Pixie Princess

Chapter One: Heading North

* * *

Our story begins with a familiar scene for Fairy Tail. Cana was drinking, Erza was enjoying a slice of strawberry cake, Lucy and Levi were discussing the latest book that one of their favorite authors had just published, and Gray and Natsu were rolling around on the guild floor, trying to get at each other's throats.

"Gray."

Gray looked over from where Natsu currently had him pinned and gave a sideways glance at Makarov, who was motioning for him to come over. With a grunt, he kicked the fire mage off and stood up.

"What's up?" the ice mage asked.

"I have something I need to discuss with you. Please follow me."

"Hang on a second. I wasn't done with you yet." Natsu protested.

"We can finish later." Gray said with a wave of his hand as he followed the guild master.

They entered Fairy Tail's mailing room where the incoming requests and letters were sorted. Gray noticed a large stack of letters marked "complaints" and snickered when he saw Natsu's name written on most of them. Makarov immediately went to one of the filing cabinets and pulled a letter out of one of the draws. He handed it to Gray then found a nearby chair and sat in it. Gray did the same and began to examine the letter.

"That letter came for you yesterday." The master explained, "I've already read it of course, seeing as it's my duty as guild master to filter through all the requests my brats receive."

"Are you sure you're not just nosy?" Gray teased as he pulled a sheet of paper out of the envelope.

He immediately noticed a familiar crest stamped at the bottom of the letter. After a few moments of staring at it recognition flashed across his face and he felt his heart skip a beat. Hastily he began to read the letter.

"Well, what do you make of it?" Makarov asked when Gray had finished reading.

"What can I make of it? It's so vague. All it does is request that I report to the palace of Isvan." the ice mage's brief excitement had faded. This was no doubt some kind of prank.

"So then you have no idea why Isvan's king would summon you?"

Gray shook his head. "I don't even think this is legitimate. They wouldn't ask for me without giving some kind of explanation."

"Are you sure about that? The stamp there seemed to match up with the royal family's crest."

"But that can easily be duplicated. Can't it?"

"Not quite. Magic was used to create this. It's the same kind used on Fairy Tail's emblem. It can't be easily be replicated."

"So you think it's real then?"

"Ether that or some highly skilled mage is behind this."

"Then I guess the only way to find out for sure is to go and see."

Makarov gave the ice mage a serious look. "If you're planning on going then I must warn you to be very cautious and don't even think about going there alone. Some nasty rumors have been leaking out of that country. It seems Isvan has hit some hard times."

"I know." Gray nodded, his expression sober. "I've been hearing the same ever since we came back from Tenrou Island."

"Knowing that, are you still planning on going?"

Gray thought for a moment. He hadn't seen Isvan in eleven years, not since he had left the place and traveled West. He thought that there was nothing left for him to go back to seeing that everyone he cared about that lived there were already dead. But he also knew that if he didn't find out what the letter was about the mystery of it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I'll go." he finally said.

Makarov nodded, "Then I wish you the best of luck."

As Gray exited the letter room he thought about who he was going to ask to go with him. Natsu was out of the question, all that travailing would be torture for him. Urza maybe, but he couldn't stand it when it was just the two of them. It was so awkward and he never knew what to say. Plus just the idea of trying to haul her mountain of luggage all the way to Isvan was enough to make him cringe. He knew Lucy couldn't afford to go on such a long trip and although he enjoyed Wendy's company he didn't want to bring her along on a potentially dangerous journey.

As he stepped back into the guild's main area he was greeted by a flaming fist flying towards his face.

Thanks to his quick reflexes he was able to dodge the attack. "Not now Natsu, I'm trying to concentrate." he growled.

"What's gotten you into such a bad mood? Did Gramps scold you or something?"

"Nothing of the sort and my mood was just fine until you broke my concentration."

"What are you thinking so hard about?" the fire mage asked.

Gray just ignored him and went back to trying to pick a traveling partner.

"I know." he said after a few moments of concentrated thought. "Cana! Cana would be perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Natsu questioned.

"Yeah, perfect for what?" Cana asked from where she sat on one of the guild tables, clutching a barrel between her legs. The sound of her name being spoken had alerted her to their conversation.

Gray strolled over and leaned against the table.

"What do you say about coming with me on a little road trip?"

* * *

"I don't get it?" Cana said as they made their way to the train station.

"What's not to get?" Gray asked.

"Why didn't you just ask Juvia to go along with you? You two have been getting along pretty well for the past few months haven't you." she said with a sly wink.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say."

There was a moment of silence as Cana took a gulp form the bottle she was carrying.

"So you really go a royal summoning huh? What do they want you for?"

"I have no idea. I'm not even sure if it's real. We just have to go there and find out."

There was another pause as Cana finished off the alcohol.

"So why'd you decide to bring me along?"  
"I don't mind your company, You pretty level headed when it comes to most things, and Juvia doesn't consider you as a love rival so I don't have to worry about her trying to follow us."

"I'm pretty sure Juvia would follow you around weather you were with a love rival or not."

"Well, hopefully she won't follow me all the way to Isvan."

They finally reached the train station. From there they took the train to the coast and booked a ride on a ship sailing North.

* * *

It took a total of five days to reach the border of Isvan. By then Cana had already regretted accompanying Gray on his trip. She was bored out of her mind, she was cold, and worse of all she was sober. Gray had insisted she not drink any alcohol while when they crossed the boarder. With nothing else to do she occupied her mind by coming up with ways Gray could pay her back once they got home. Gray was busy talking things over with the border patrol. Security wasn't very tight around Isvan's boarder, seeing as not many people were trying to get into the small frozen country. Despite this, however they still were having trouble getting in.

"What's the hold up?" Cana asked as Gray shuffled over with a disappointed look on his face.

"I have no idea. They said they need to talk to their superior about something." He said as he plopped down next to her.

"As soon as we get into town your buying me a beer go it?"

"I already said I would."

"You better. And buy me a jacket while your at it. It's freezing."

"It's only going to get worse once we get further in."

"How lovely."

"Mr. Fullbuster?"

Gray stood up when his name was called and walked over to the patrol.

"Yes?" he asked eagerly.

"I'm sorry to say this sir, but we cannot allow you and your friend to go through."

"What? Why not."

"I'm sorry, but mages are forbidden from entering the country."

"What?" Gray was stunned. "Since when?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

At this point Cana had taken an interest in the conversation and walked over.

"B-but this is my home country. I grew up in Isvan." Gray stammered. "I'm a citizen here."

"I afraid we can't make any exceptions."

"But-"

"Wait a minuet." Cana interrupted. "You're telling me that we came all the way out here and your not even going to let us in?"

"Yes, now will you please move along."

"But your king specifically requested to meet with Gray." Cana growled, raising her voice.

"That's right." Gray said. He fumbled with his bags for a minuet then produced the letter.

The man snatched it from him and scrutinized the piece of paper. The others gathered around him and they all gawked at it with alarm. They went away for a moment to discuss this new development. Gray and Cana exchanged worried glances. Then the men turned back and one of them walked up to Gray.

"Very well, you can come in but you must be accompanied by an escort to the capital city. I cannot simply let a mage roam around freely."

Gray was ready to punch the man, but controlled his anger.

"Since when has Isvan been so afraid of mages?" Gray asked through clenched teeth, staring the man down.

Then the man turned away from his gaze and looked at Cana. "You lady can go home."

"What?"

"You were not summoned so I cannot let you enter."

"I didn't come all this way just to wait-"

It was Gray who stopped her. He pulled his friend aside. Rummaging through his pockets he pulled out a handful of bills and handed them to her.

"Here, take this and buy yourself a drink and some warm clothes. I'll come back as soon as I can. We'll meet up again at the inn we stayed at last night."

"So you're planning on going in alone. I though the whole point of bringing me along was so that I could keep an eye on you."

"I sorry but I don't see any way around this. Listen, the capital is only a day's journey away from here. So if I'm not back in five days you can come after me. I'm sure you'll have no problem sneaking past these guys."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"You don't think I'll be?"

"I have no idea. Just be careful."

"I will. Thank you Cana."

* * *

Gray flopped onto the bed and let out a tired sigh. They were now only a three hour carriage ride away from the capital, but had stopped for the night at a nearby town when the sun had gone down. It was a pain having to be escorted. It made him feel like a criminal being followed around by a half a dozen guards. Oh, he could take them out no problem and run off whenever he wanted to but he bared with it, wanting to see this thing through to the end. At least they left him alone in his room.

He yawned tiredly and pulled the covers over himself to get some sleep. He lay there for about an hour trying to will his mind into unconsciousness but to no avail. Something was off. The air in the room didn't feel right as he breathed it in. He walked over to the window and opened it, hoping to let some fresh air in. He stuck his head out and breathed deeply. He gagged when the same toxins filled his nostrils. Pulling back inside, he shut the window.

He slid back into bed and pulled the sheets over his head, hoping to block out whatever was tainting the air. He barely slept that night and woke up the next morning feeling exhausted.

* * *

Three hours after sunrise they reached the capital city. It was large of course. Having seen dozens of larger cities, however Gray was not overly impressed by the size. What Gray was impressed by was the design of the city. The buildings screamed of traditional Isvan architecture. The curve of the houses and the decorated stone brought Gray a warm sense of familiarity and he smiled despite the growing anxiety building up in his stomach.

As they marched through the city Gray took the opportunity to smile and wave that the people they passed by. No one waved back. Most just put their heads down and ignored him, others actually glared at him. Gray was thoroughly taken aback by this. This wasn't the Isvan he remembered. Seventeen years ago when he trailed form town to town on his westward trek practically everyone would smile back at him several would say hello and even strike up a conversation with him. Was it just like this in the capital city or had the whole of Isvan changed? No, that was just too impossible to believe it must be that the capital was populated entirely by jerks.

Finally, they reached the castle and Gray was escorted inside. He was told to wait while someone ran off to inform the king of his arrival. So he waited, admiring the simple yet eloquent design of the place. The castle was large, although not quite as large as the one in Fiore.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Gray jumped and spun around to see an old man standing behind him. He stood about a foot shorted then himself and from the looks of what he was wearing Gray guess that he must be a member of the court.

"It is." Gray said, getting over his small shock.

"Is this your first time here?" the man asked.

Gray nodded.

"Well, savor it while you can. It won't be here much longer."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, taken aback.

"Soon this whole place, the palace, the city and eventually the whole of Isvan will be no more."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"There's a growing darkness within this country. Can't you feel it within the air."

Gray nodded, remembering how unpleasant it had become to breath since he got there.

"I thought you might be able to tell. The people who live here have been exposed to it for too long and so they don't notice as it steadily gets worse."

"Who are you?" Gray asked.

"My name is Grim, I'm an adviser to the king. My job mostly includes advising the king on magical matters. I'm not a mage myself. There hasn't been a mage in this palace for fifteen years. But I do have knowledge and I offer it whenever it is needed."

"Why hasn't there been any mages in fifteen years?"

Grim was about to answer when one of the servants interrupted them.

"Gray Fullbuster?" the man asked.

"Yes?" Gray said.

"His Majesty will see you now."


	2. Answers

Chapter 2: Answers

* * *

Gray followed the servant up several flights of stairs until they stopped in front of a large door. The man opened the door and Gray entered. As soon as he stepped inside, he came almost nose to nose with a brown haired youth.

"Thank goodness you came." the boy said gleefully, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Are you the king?" Gray inquired, he wouldn't have guessed it, the boy couldn't have been older than sixteen.

"You can call me Erander." he said, dropping the ice mage's hand.

He sat down on a nearby chair and motioned for Gray to do the same. Taking a seat, Gray noticed that they were in what appeared to be a large office.

"We have much to talk about, but first let me apologize about your earlier treatment. If I had know when you would arrive I would have sent someone out to greet you."

"Don't worry about it," Gray said stiffly, not knowing how to act before royalty, "Why do you have a law like that anyway?"

"It wasn't my decision to keep mages out of the country, but right now I don't have the power to change it."

"What do you mean you don't have the power? I'm no expert on how governments work but Isn't something like that in the king's jurisdiction?"

"It's not that easy."

"I see..."

"You must be tired from your trip." Erander quickly moved to a new topic, "Would you like anything to drink? I can get you whatever you like."

"I doubt I'll be able to relax until I find out what is going on. From what I can guess your in some kind of trouble?"

"You're right about that. We need your help, Gray. I need your help and this country needs your help." The boy said, his tone was serious and his eyes were pleading.

"I'll help if I can. But you need to tell me what's going on."

"Yes, I'll explain everything. You see there is a growing evil that is slowly seeping into Isvan and it seems to be nearing it's peak."

"A man downstairs told me something like that."

"Grim?"

Gray nodded.

"Yes, he's our resident expert on such things. He tells me it's a form of dark magic and that the only way to counter it is with magic of our own. Unfortunately, all the mages within Isvan are either working for the enemy or aren't strong enough to be of much help."

"Why is that? I know Isvan was never very populated by skilled mages, but there were at least a handful of legitimate guilds around."

"It hasn't been like that in at least ten years. Now no one will even admit to being a mage for fear of being shunned." Erander said in exasperation, "The people have become incredibly hostile towards mages. No one trusts magic anymore. It was hard enough for me to convince the court to let me bring you here."

"But why?"

"It started with a demon named Deliora. I know you're familiar with that monster. It was your master after all that finally put an end to its mindless destruction."

Gray nodded.

"Unfortunately Ur was lost after that and it seemed that after that great mage fell all the dark mages that had been hiding until then found the courage to come out and practice their devilry out in the open. They banded together and built up the black market for forbidden magic, using this weakened country as a processing plant and shipping their spells and potions throughout the continent. It grew steadily and now there is more black magic in Isvan than anywhere else in the world. Because of this people no longer knew which kinds of magic they can trust and so they didn't trust any. Now mages are treated like scum but that's not the only side effect of all this. This evil, this darkness, seems to be feeding off of the dark magic and seeping into the hearts of my people. It's corrupting their hearts and filling them with hate."

Gray remembered the glares that had greeted him when he entered the city and nodded. Hearing the king's story had put an ache in his heart and he wanted nothing more than to help however he could. He could see the rage building up in the man and realized that he too was becoming angry. But something still confused him.

"I understand what's going on now, but why did you send for me? Aren't there other more powerful mages you could have asked for help?"

"It's because you're the only one that I think these people might be able to trust." the king said.

"Huh? For what reason?"

"For several actually. The first being that you are originally from Isvan, but you left this place before the dark mages emerged. So your homeland is Isvan but you're not one of the dark mages that is corrupting it. You're also the disciple of Ur, who is still highly respected, even now. There's also the fact that you use ice magic. Ice is very familiar to our people, since we're constantly surrounded by it, so I don't think they will be as afraid of it as they would another kind of magic."

"I think I get it."

"Plus, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. I hear you're one of the most powerful mages in the West" all serious seemed to suddenly drain out of the boy when he said this.

"What?"

"They say you single-handedly took down a dark guild when you were ten and that slew a thousand within thirty minutes."

"That sound more like Erza than me. And I'm not even sure that's even true for her." Gray mumbled.

The boy didn't seem to hear him. "Come on, Gray. I know you'll be able to help save us. We need someone like you now more than ever."

"Like I said, I'll help you out if I can."

"If you're truly willing to help then there is something I need you to do" Erander said, all mirth vanished and his serious composure was back.

"And what is that?"

"You belong to a guild right? Fairy Tail, if I remember correctly."

Gray nodded.

"For this to work I'll need you to cut all ties you have to that guild."

Gray's mouth fell open and he stared at the man as if he had just asked him to cut off his own head.

"This won't work if your loyalty lies anywhere else." he explained, "The people won't be able to trust you fully. Not only that, but this is the only was I was able to convince the council to let you stay here in peace. If you don't do this they may end up forcing you out of the country or worse and I doubt I will be able to do anything to stop them. So, will you do this for me Gray? For your country?"

Gray just stood there for a moment dumbfounded. "No." he finally managed to choke out.

"What? Why? I though you wanted to help. Is it really such a sacrifice for you to leave your guild?"

"It is." Gray said, standing up. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, but Fairy Tail is my family. They've always been there for me and I could never leave them."

Erander hung his head, and held his hands out towards the ice mage.

"Please, Gray." he pleaded, his voice cracking, "I don't know who else to turn to."

Gray looked at him and was shocked to see that the boy was shaking. A few tears traveled down his face and fell off his chin.

"You just don't get it." Erander chocked as he wiped away the tears and looked up at the ice mage, "I'm at a complete dead end. No one will listen to me, all they do is argue all day. I wasn't ready to be put in charge yet, not when things are like this."

Realization suddenly dawned on Gray. "You're not the king are you."

Erander shook his head. "I'm the king's first son the prince."

"Why am-? What's going on?" the ice mage was completely baffled.

"Please don't tell anyone, if word got out it would just make things worse for me. I'm only taking over until my father recovers."

"I- I won't tell anyone. But what's wrong with the king?"

"He's gone mad. It seems everyone around here has to an extent, but he's been affected the most. He doesn't even recognize me as his son anymore and thinks I'm an enemy who's trying to take his throne." the boy explained, holding back the tears that threatened to fall again, "We had to lock him up for his own safety and ours. Please, Gray, you have to dispel this horrible darkness, then I'm sure my father will return to normal."

The ice mage just stood there, still taking it all in. Isvan was now kingless and descending into chaos and he was expected to fix all of this on his own? There was no way he could do it. He was only called here because of this boy's misplaced expectations. Sure, he could help, but not if that meant quitting the guild. He couldn't leave his family, he couldn't bear to face life alone. He remembered the horrible he had felt when his family was killed and again when Ur died. He couldn't face that again. There was no way he could fight without Fairy Tail.

"There's also another reason why you would have to leave your guild."

"What is that?" Gray asked, but he didn't want to know, he didn't care anymore. He wished he was back home and had never come to Isvan in the first place.

As Erander explained the final reason the ice mage felt his stomach turn. The information only proved to deepen his conviction.

"I'm sorry." he said when the boy had finished, "You're going to have to find someone else.

The prince let him leave. When he was gone, he let his head collapse into his hands, letting out a ragged sigh.

* * *

"I got to say lady, I don't think I've ever seen someone drink as much as you before."

Cana grinned at the bartender's words and brought a barrel up to her lips and downed the rest of its contents. She through the empty container next to several others and rested her head on the bar counter.

"Are you finally done?" the man asked, still looking impressed at the stack of empty barrels.

The mage didn't answer. The world was beginning to swirl around her as the alcohol started to take effect. Since there was nothing else to do while she waited for Gray to get back, she had spent most of the time around the local bars, getting more drunk than usual. She didn't feel quite herself after Gray left and was hoping the strong drink would get her mind off of how worried she was.

"Geez, why an I so worried about that fool anyway?" she mumbled to herself.

"Did you say something?" the bartender asked.

"Just talking to myself." Cana replied.

"I'll be closing up soon so you'll need to start heading home."  
Cana raised her hand in a thumbs up sign to show him she understood, but stayed where she was for several more minutes. Finally she pulled herself up and staggered out of the establishment. The girl stood in a daze at the exit for a long time, trying to remember which way the inn was. Everything looked so different in the dark. A gust of cold wind brought her back to her senses as it nipped at her face. She pulled the hood of her new coat over her head and began trudging in what she thought was the right direction.

As she shuffled her feet along the cobblestone road her big two suddenly collided with a loose rock. She hissed in pain, losing her balance and tumbling forward. A pair of arms reached out and grabbed her inches before her face was smeared across the road. She blinked and looked up in confusion.

"Hey Cana, having a little trouble staying upright?" Gray teased as he helped to steady her.

"Gray? But you weren't suppose to get back for another two days."

"I'm sorry. Were you having too much fun without me?"

"Hardly, even the alcohol is cold around here. Please tell me we can go home now."  
"We can. I'm as anxious as you are now. We can head out in the morning, but first let's get some sleep. The inn's this way, isn't it?"

Cana nodded, then clutched her head as the movement suddenly made the world spin faster. The ice mage slung the girl's arm around his shoulder to give her support and they headed off. She having trouble putting one foot in front of the other and Gray was almost dragging her.

"This is too slow." the card mage complained, "Why don't you just carry me?"

Gray grudgingly let Cana climb onto his back, then stood up and began walking.

"So what did the king want?" Cana murmured, resting her head on the other's shoulder.

Gray hesitated before answering. "He... wanted me to quit Fairy Tail and work for him."

"What?" the news was enough to wake Cana up from her half sleep.

"You refused right?" she asked almost too quickly.

"Of course."

"Good." the girl laid her head back down and closed her eyes.

"I'm not going to leave Fairy Tail just for something like that." he reassured her.

There was a moment of silence between them the rhythm of the ice mages breathing slowly lulled the drunken girl to sleep.

"I was worried you might." she said, just before nodding off.

"Huh?"

"Leave Fairy Tail I mean. When you left I got worried."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not leaving Fairy Tail."

He repeated it again more to himself this time than to the other, his voice full of determination.

"I'm not leaving Fairy Tail."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. Now to answer some questions y'all had.

Yes, Ray, Gray is a devil slayer in this one. I'll probably end up taking some creative liberties when it comes to this new magic since we don't know much about it yet.

AsDarknessSpreads, I did some research and if you look at the page they have for Earth Land on the Fairy Tail wiki it states that Isvan is "A country located west to Fiore." and that's all I could find. There's very little information on that place. The only other thing we know for sure is that it's where Gray's home town was located and where Ur lived.

Update next Friday. See you then.


	3. Conviction

Chapter 3: Conviction

* * *

The guild was quiet for once, at least, what you could call quiet around that place. Everyone was tired out for the day's work and seemed content to sit around and engage in cheerful chatter while drinking or eating some of Mira's delicious cooking. Natsu was seeing how many shrimps he could stuff in his mouth while Erza watched in fascination, Lucy looked away in distrusted, and Happy wailed at him for not sharing.

A loud boom reverberated through the hall as the door was swung violently open. Several of the members flinched at the unexpected noise and Natsu nearly spitting out half chewed shrimp all over Erza.

"Bring out the best alcohol in the house Mira, Gray's buying and I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste." Cana declared as she stowed into the guild. Gray followed behind her. With his head down and his hands in his pockets.

"You're, early." Erza noted as they took next to them, "We weren't expecting you for a few more days."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at the ice mage.

"Urph um mmferph umph."

"Gross!" Lucy wrinkled her nose at him, "Natsu, either eat or talk, not both."

"Did you find out what that letter was about?" Erza asked, ignoring Natsu's antics.

"Turns out the whole thing was a complete waste of time." Cana said irritably.

"What do you mean? What did the king want?"

"He wanted me to leave Fairy Tail and come work for him. I refused of course and we came home." Gray explained, while resting his elbows on the table. If he pretended like nothing else had happened then maybe everything would go back to normal and he could forget all about it.

"Like I said. It was a complete waist of time. The king should have just said so in the letter and saved us a trip."

"Is that really all that he wanted?" Lucy asked, suspiciously.

"Pretty much."

"What did he want you to do for him." Erza asked.

"I didn't even bother to listen to that. There's nothing he could have said that would have convinced me to leave my guild."

"Your loyalty is inspiring." Erza said as she wrapped an arm around the ice mage and pulled him close. His head collided with her armor with a painful thud.

The fire mage and now finally finished swallowing his mouth full of shrimp and grabbed. Standing up on the table, he grabbed Gray by the arm and pulled him away from Erza. He his hand up in a fist and slammed it into the other boy's face. The ice mage fell off the table and onto the floor, tumbling over in a heap.

"What is your problem?" He yelled, pulling himself up.

Natsu only grinned and lunged at him. Gray jumped out of the way and crashed his foot into the other's chest. The dragon slayer was thrown against a table which broke upon impact. He got up, still grinning. Balling his hands, which erupted into flames.

"Finally!" he yelled, "I've been itching for a good fight since you left."

"Oh, is that what you wanted?" Gray said, grinning back at the other. At least now he had something to distract himself for previous events.

"Take it outside!" Cana yelled at them. "I'd like to be able to drink in peace."

Gray and Natsu looked at Cana then back at each other.

"Fine!" they said in unison and trudged out the back door.

No sooner had they stepped outside, then they were at it again. Through kicks and punches and trying anything to get the upper hand.

"What's the matter, droopy eyes? You seem to be slower than usual." Natsu taunted.

Gray gritted his teeth as the fire mage landed another punch to his face. Natsu was really giving it his all this time. Usually just seeing the other all fired up would give him enough motivation to rise up to his challenge and put forth as much effort as the other. But today he wasn't feeling it. His mind was numb, he couldn't predict the other's moves like he normally would and his punches were thrown with less feeling.

This all resulted in him being pinned to the ground while Natsu beat into him for a good ten seconds, then he stopped and looked at Gray's brushed and bleeding face with narrowed eyes. Ice mage lay there in a daze for a moment after the beating he had just received. His left eye was starting to swell shut and his head was throbbing. He finally noticed the concentrated stare the other was giving him and looked back in confusion through his good eye. The dragon slayer's brow furrowed, then he suddenly growled and got to his feet, grabbing Gray by the shoulder's and pulling him up with him.

"You call that fighting!" he roared and kneed him in the stomach.

Gray doubled over and clutched at the assaulted area. He tilted his head up to glare at his opponent.

"You sick or something because this is pathetic?"

He answered him by swinging his leg around to kick him in the side, sending him tumbling. In a flash Natsu was back on his feet and charging at him, retaliating with a flurry of punches. He smirked when each one hit it's mark, again and again, then he stopped and his face fell when he realized he wasn't receiving any in return. He took a step back for Gray, who was standing on shaking legs, his head was down, his hair covering his eyes so Natsu couldn't see his expression, a small trail of blood trickled down his face and fell in droplets on the ground.

"Gray, what is wrong with you man?"

Why was he being so pathetic? Why wasn't he fighting him like he always did. He could always count on Gray to give him a satisfying show down. The ice mage always matched his burning passion with an equal amount of energy. So why was he acting so lackluster now?

"Guess you win this one, Natsu." the other said with a sigh. He turned around and started to walk away.

"It's not a win unless you come at me with all you've got! Now get back here and fight me for real!" he yelled.

"I'm just tired form the trip. I'm going home to rest. We can fight again some other time." Gray explained.

Natsu growled at the other's retreating form before he turned around and stomped back into the guild. He stormed over to where Cana was drinking, pulling up a stool he sat down and folded his arms across the counter and rested his head on them. Lucy, Erza, and Wendy had presumably gone home for the night and only his blue companion was left.

"I take it you lost the fight." Happy said, putting a paw on the other's arm to try and console him.

"No."

"Then you won?"

"No."

"It was a draw then?"

"No."

The cat fell silent, trying to figure out what other possible conclusion could have come out of the fight.

"Where did Gray go?" Cana drawled. She poked the dragon slayer's side, oblivious to the other's enraged mood in her drunken state.

"He went home." Natsu growled.

"What? But he needs to pay for my drinks."

"He said he was tired."

"Well, I guess I can just soak it out of him later. Hey Mira, I'm running low here!" The girl held her glass up so the woman to come and refill it.

"Maybe we should go home too." Happy suggested, "After you get some sleep you won't be so grumpy.

Natsu nodded and got up. Happy followed him out the door and down the street to their shared cabin. As the fire mage fell into bed, he realized how tired he was. He could worry about the stripper later. Right now all he wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

The next day Natsu woke up and didn't remember a thing about the disappointing fight, he had had with is rival. This was due mostly in part to Happy finding a job that involved testing food at some rich guys party to see that there weren't any spells put on it. He was so caught up in the prospect of being paid to eat that it completely slipped his mind when he met up with Gray and everyone else at the train station.

After that the event was so far back in his memory that he wouldn't remember it until the third day when Gray punched him in the gut over a petty insult. That jogged his memory and he pulled Gray out the back door again and demanded a rematch. He was relieved when his rival fought him this time with all the energy he had left in him after that day's mission. The fight ended with both of them sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily.

Natsu went to bed that night, confident that Gray was back to normal. He didn't start to worry about him again until ten days later...

* * *

Gray smiled to himself. It had been thirteen days since he and Cana had returned and everything had gone back to normal. People had stopped asking him about his trip, he and Natsu were fighting all the time, and Juvia had stopped being angry at him for going on a long journey with Cana. Everything was going well now. The events surrounding Isvan were now completely out of mind and an unusual peacefulness had settled over the guild. Gray couldn't remember things being this uneventful for so long since back before Lucy joined. Speaking of Lucy, the celestial spirit mage was currently dancing with glee.

They had just completed a mission and their employer was so impressed with their work that he gave them a hefty bonus.

"Wow, this almost never happens." Lucy squealed delightedly as she held up the extra cash "Let's go on a shopping spree with this."

"Why shopping? Let's get some food." Natsu suggested.

"I say we spend it on fish."

"You spend all your money on fish, Happy."

"If we're getting food lets go to one of the nicer restaurants this time." said Gray.

Just then there came an emphatic growl from the direction of Erza's stomach.

The two boy's covered there moth's to keep from laughing. Erza glared at them. She trough a hand over her tummy as if to shush it only to have it rumble again.

"I guess this means no shopping." Lucy moped.

A few minuets latter, they were sitting down at one of the finer restaurants in Magnolia and ordering everything on the menu.

"And be sure to bring me five of these, no, make it ten." Natsu said as their waiter frantically wrote down their order.

"There goes our bonus money." Lucy sighed.

"Can I get you folks anything to drink while you wait for... all this?" Their waiter asked.

They all told him what drinks they wanted and the man shuffled off. The group then broke into cheerful chatter. Gray leaned back in his seat and glanced around at the restaurant's interior. It held about thirty tables as well as a bar in the center. The place was mostly empty seeing as it was already pretty late. The only other people around were a young couple off in the corner and two men who were chatting over their drinks a few tables away from them.

"For our next mission lets go to someplace exotic." Lucy said, clasping her hands together with delight.

"Like where?" Natsu asked as he drummed his fingers on the table.

The blond eagerly began to describe the places she's like to visit. After the third detailed description of a tourist hang out Gray lost interest in listening and his attention began to drift to the other patrons in the establishment. The couple was busy feeding each other their meals and staring at the other with doey eyes. The ice mage looked away in disgust and turned his attention to the two men. They were just close enough that he could hear their conversation. What he heard sent his heart racing. He stared blankly off into the distance as his mind raced. That couldn't be true could it. He strained to hear the men over his friends' chatter. He had to make sure he didn't hear it wrong. As he listened to the rest of the conversion, he felt his breath coming in faster. His hands instinctively began to remove his jacket. As he did his arm brushed up against Urza who looked over at him.

"Gray are you all right? You look a little pale." she asked, her eyes narrowing in concern.

Gray shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to calm his racing mind.

"Are you feeling sick?" Happy asked.

He opened his eyes and looked up. All his friends were staring at him in concern.

"A little." he finally managed to say. "I think I'll go home. I don't really feel like eating."

"Do you want someone to come with you?" Lucy asked.

"I'll be fine." He said, getting up and walking out of the restaurant.

* * *

As soon as he stepped outside, he stared to run. All he wanted to do was go get home, go to sleep, and forget everything. But as he ran the conversation the two men had echoed in his mind.

"_Did you hear about what happened in Isvan."_

"_Don't tell me something else has happened? That place is a magnet for trouble if you ask me."_

"_I heard there's been fighting amongst the cities."_

"_Really? Over what?"_

"_Not sure. But it wasn't just some small feud. Hundreds of people were killed I hear. If it keeps eccelerating like this I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in a civil war."_

Gray ran up the steps to his house and slammed the door behind him. He slid to the floor and pulled his knees up against his chest.

"You're a coward." he yelled through gritted teeth. "You're a cold blooded coward, Gray Fullbuster."

He slammed a fist into the floor. Slowly he lifted it up to his face and stared at it. It was shaking like a leaf. He balled both his hands into fists and wrapped his arms around his legs to try and calm his shaking limbs.

"I was scared." his voice was now a low murmur as he pulled his head down, resting them against his knees. He swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the thump that was forming in his throwtr0ken!

"I was so afraid of being alone again that I ran away scared and now I'm safe at Fairy Tail while my homeland burns."

He hugged his legs tighter and tried to concentrate on his breathing to calm himself down. He shut his eyes as he waited for his body to stop shaking. After what seemed like an hour he finally stilled. Getting up, he managed to fumble across the floor and make it to his bedroom where he immediately fell into bed.

But sleep wouldn't come. Instead he lay on his back and looked out of the window by his bed. He could see a street lamp that flickered off and on. It started to drizzle and the light reflected off of the water droplets as they fell to the ground. His gaze stayed fixed on the rain drops that twinkled at him like falling stars.

He lay there, motionless, and thought of his home. Not Fairy Tail but his first home. He remembered falling snow that would tickle his nose. Running out and playing in the snow with his friends until dusk. The running back to his mother when she called him in and jumping into her arms. He remembered the smell of pine as his father would haul in firewood and set it alight to keep their house warm. He remembered snuggling into his mother's lap. His father would wrap his arms around both of them and they would share stories and jokes as the outside piled up so high he wouldn't be able to even open the front door the next morning.

He smiled as the memories came back to him. But then it faded and was replaced instead by the memory of Deliora.

He had lost his home. It was all taken from him in a single day. Ur saved him, pulled him out of the rubble and gave him a new home with her and Lyon. But just when a semblance of normal was returning to his life, that home as well was lost, he tore it apart by his own selfish actions. He ended Ur's life and lost Lyon's trust. And he was alone again.

He ran away then. Putting as much distance as he could between himself and the land where he had lost everything. But he didn't go West just to get away. He believed what his master said, that he powerful mages lived there. If he found them he could learn from them, and grow stronger himself. Strong enough so that he could overcome the horrible pain of loss that still lingered in his heart. And he had grown stronger, but the pain still remained.

"What's the point of getting stronger if in the end, I'm still just as messed up as always?" he asked himself, his voice only a whisper.

"At least..." he swallowed hard, "At least I guess now I have the strength to protect my home." when he said home he meant Fairy Tail but instead of all his friends coming to mind, a different image came to him, a memory of snow covered houses with people huddled inside, sitting cozily by a roaring fire, talking, singing, telling stories, and laughing.

He blinked in surprise. When did his concept of home become so two sided? He realized then how much he missed it. That cozy warmth that the people of that frozen country held inside them. The smiles he would receive just for walking down the street. He hadn't seen it when he went to answer his summons. It had been taken away and replaced with hatred. Now there was fighting and bloodshed and it might be lost forever. He didn't want that to happen. He didn't want more people to go through the same pain he had.

"Am I strong enough now to protect that home?" he asked himself, he turned his head to stare up at the ceiling, trying to find the answer. It wasn't about whether or not he could win the fight. If something was that precious to him shouldn't he fight no matter what the outcome would be? No. The question was whether or not he had the strength to stand up and fight _alone_, to leave his guild, the only thing that had kept him going for the past ten years, and face solitude once more.

He didn't have the answer, but the conviction in his heart was clear, fear no longer clouded it out and he knew that no matter what he had to try. If he didn't, then regret would haunt him for the rest of his life. If his country was dieing, then he needed to be there, fighting to keep it alive, and if he failed...

Then he would die with it.


	4. Never Forget

Chapter 4: Never Forget

* * *

Sunlight began to creep through Gray's window. He sat up, realizing that he had spent the whole night in contemplative thought. But he didn't feel tired, he felt sick. Sick at the thought of what this day was going to hold for him.

He went to his closet and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Then he threw some water on his face, hoping to wash away the sleep from his eyes. He stared at his reflection in the mirror as water dripped from his bangs. Dark circles were starting to form around his eyes. He sighed, then turned away and headed for the door. When he stepped outside, he stopped dead in his tracks.

There, staring right back at him was a pair pointy eyes.

Natsu was leaning up against the railing next to his front steps, arms crossed and grinning at him. A half-asleep Happy was resting on top of his head.

"So," he said, his smile growing even wider. "When are heading out?"

Gray blinked a few times. What was Natsu doing on his front steps, and right at sunrise at that. How long had he been waiting for him to come out?

"W-what? Going where?" He finally asked.

"North, of course. You're planning on going to Isvan to fix all the crap that's been happening down there aren't you?"

"How did you-?"

"Never underestimate a dragon slayer's hearing." He replied with a smug look."

"Then last night—You heard what those two men said?"

"Of course, and when you reacted the way you did wasn't hard to put two and two together."

"He spent all night worrying you would run off without telling anybody." Happy explained with a yawn, "So he decided to come out here so he could catch you if you tried to leave."

"Happy!" the fire mage growled at the cat. He then looked at Gray, expecting the ice mage to start teasing him for being worried about him. Instead the other had his head cast down. Natsu gritted is teeth when he saw the guilt behind the other's expression.

"Don't tell me you actually were planning on skipping out on us?" he growled.

"Not-" Gray felt an uneasiness begin to fill his stomach as he said the words, "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"  
The ice mage didn't answer.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. All that matters now is going to Isvan and kicking... um... defeating..." Natsu scratched his head, not sure of what exactly they would be doing, "Well, just doing whatever we have to do to fix the problem so you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Gray shook his head, "You can't come with me, Natsu."

"I know you probably want to do it all alone, so you can have to glory all to yourself. But haven't you figured it out by now that that's not how Fairy Tail does things. If you're going to charge headlong into danger then I'm going to have your back. Urza and Lucy I'm sure are going to want to tag along as well."

At the mention of Fairy Tail, Gray felt his a sharp pain in his chest and he turned his face away. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. Natsu went over and grabbed him by the arm.

"Let's go find Lucy and Erza and tell them they need to cancel their plans for the next few weeks." he said and began walking away, pulling the ice mage with him.

"Natsu, wait!" Gray managed to choke out, trying to pull away, but the other held on firmly, "Natsu I'm not taking anybody with me."

"There's no way I'm letting that happen so you might as well give up on the idea." The fire mage yanked on his arm even harder and quickened his pace.  
"Will you at least let me explain?" Gray could feel the entire range of emotions he had been feeling for the past several hours welling up in him again, "Natsu, I'm not going to be a member of Fairy Tail anymore, I'm quitting the guild." he blurted out before his throat could close up on him.

The dragon slayer froze in mid step. He slowly turned his head to look into his friend's pleading eyes.

"Say that again." he said softly.

"I-" Gray started, but couldn't finish.

"Say it again." Natsu repeated, a little louder this time, turning his body so he was now directly facing the other.

Gray swallowed hard. Forcing himself to keep looking into his friend's eyes, he softly said the words that sent Natsu's blood boiling.

"I'm leaving Fairy Tail."

The fire mage took a hesitant step back from the other.

"Why?" He breathed.

Gray tried to speak, but was stopped when the other sent a flaming fist into his face. He fell to the ground and clutched at his burned and bruised cheek.

"Why?" He yelled it this time, not hiding the anger and confusion he felt, "Why? What possible reason could you have that would justify this?"

He brought his fist up for another attack. Gray stood up and jumped out of the way.

"Would you let me explain?" He pleaded.

Natsu kept his fist raised and slowly advanced upon the other. Gray continued taking steps back, keeping far enough away to be out of range of his fist, but close enough so that they could still talk.

"Maybe he's just pretending." Happy suggested, the little guy was cleaning tightly to the back of Natsu's shirt and looking over his shoulder to stair pleadingly at Gray, "Like that one time. Remember? With that Daphne woman, and the fake dragon?"

The dragon slayer lowered his arm, his anger dissipating.

"Oh, I get it," He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Gray, like a teacher scolding a disobedient student. "I'll admit your a pretty good actor, but your not going to trick me and run off to Isvan on your own that easily."

"I'm not acting!" Gray exclaimed in desperation, "I was on my way to Fairy Tail right now to talk to Gramps."

Natsu growled, low and menacing, then snatched Gray up by the arm and began dragging him off. At first, the ice mage struggled to get free then decided that it would be better to just let the other do whatever he wanted. He didn't want to start a fight. He wanted to talk to Natsu and get him to understand.

"Where are we going?" he demanded.

"To someone who can talk some sense into you."

* * *

Fairy Tail's doors burst open and Natsu stormed in, still pulling Gray roughly behind him. Gray looked around hurriedly, hoping that she wasn't there. He saw Lucy, eating breakfast at one of the tables and several others. Then he saw Urza, looking over the request board, and his heart sank.

Natsu immediately pulled him over to the scarlet haired woman and threw onto the ground at her feet. She turned her head to glare at at the fire mage.

"What is the meaning of this? You two better not have been fighting again."

"I need you to talk some sense into this idiot."

She looked down at the Gray as he slowly stood up, then back at the fire mage.

"He keeps babbling nonsense about leaving Fairy Tail." Natsu explained, through gritted teeth.

Erza immediately turned her attention back to Gray. Something about being in the presence of the woman made the guilt he felt all the more overwhelming and he couldn't keep his expression from giving it away.

"Is this true?" she asked sternly, her voice carrying an underlining threat.

Gray gulped, this definitely wasn't how he wanted to break the news to everyone.

"It is." he said, turning his head to the side. He closed his eyes, waiting for what would happen next.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a bit unsure of herself.

"He's just saying that so he can run off to Isvan on his own." Natsu cut in before Gray could say anything.

"Hey, what's going on guys?" they all glanced over to see Lucy who was approaching them cautiously.

"I'm—sorry Lucy." Gray said when he looked into her worried eyes.

"Would you stop it already! No one's impressed with your cheesy acting." Natsu yelled, causing everyone in the guild who wasn't already watching to focus their attention on the five teammates.

"I'm confused." Lucy said, looking for Gray to Natsu to Erza, hoping somebody would give her an explanation.

"I believe I understand." Erza said in her most authoritative voice. "Gray, when you went to see the king of Isvan he asked you to help him out with something."

The ice mage nodded.

"But you refused for some reason and came back home. Now you've changed your mind and want to go back and help. But you don't want any of us to come with you so now you're pretending to leave Fairy Tail."

"No, I really am leaving Fairy Tail." Gray protested. The words hurt more and more every time he had to say them. He wanted nothing more than to run away from this confrontation, but he had to make them understand.

"Stop whining and just accept our help." Natsu growled.

"Indeed." Urza agreed, "I have a feeling this will be no simple task. I'll be too dangerous for you to try and complete it on your own."

"Bringing any of you along will only make things more dangerous." he seethed, pulling at his hair in frustration.

He looked pleadingly into each of his friend's eyes. They weren't convinced. Why weren't they convinced? What could he do to get them to understand. Then, before he even realized what he himself was doing Gray ripped his shirt off and brought his hand up to his guild insignia.

"What are you—" Natsu tried to say, But before anyone could fully comprehend what was going on, Gray pulled his hand away to reveal bare skin.

The ice mage looked at his friends who stared at him in silence. He gazed into their eyes and saw anger, confusion, and betrayal. He found he couldn't look at them any longer and lowered his head to stare at the floor.

"I don't want to leave Fairy Tail." he said with determination, "But I have to. I'm needed back in Isvan more than I am here. If I don't do this then I'll regret it for the rest of my life. And I'm sorry, but you can't come with me. I can't fully explain why, but just trust me when I say that it'll do more harm than good."

No one said anything. Few even dared to breath.

A short man approached them. He had been watching their heated discussion from the start and thought that it was now time to intervene.

"Come with me, Gray. We need to talk."

They all turned and looked at Makarov. Except for the ice mage, who kept his head lowered as he followed the guild master into his office. The door was shut behind them.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Master. I—" Gray started to say, but the small man stopped him by holding up his hand.

"You have nothing to apologize for Gray."

"But aren't you mad at me?"

"For wanting to leave Fairy Tail? No. You have no obligation to stay if you feel conflicted about it. This isn't the first time a member has left in pursuit of other goals. What I want to know is why."

The ice mage nodded and began to explain.

The master stood there quietly, not interrupting and listening attentively to every word.

"Now I understand why the king sent for." Makarov said once Gray had finished, "But that doesn't explain why you need to go alone. Or why you're quitting the guild."

"I'll be easier for people to trust me if I don't have any loyalties that lie outside of Isvan. But there's also another reason."

"And what is that?"  
"Whatever or whoever is behind the dark magic that's corrupting the country has the power to change memories. So if I went there with someone form the guild they could simply change the memories I had about that person and make me think of them as an enemy. That's why I can't take anyone with me. That's also why I have to leave the guild. If my memories of all you guys are change, then I won't be able to come back to Fairy Tail. Do you get it now?" Gray looked at the guild master pleadingly.

"I do," the old man said grimly, "But surely there must be some way to counteract this magic."

"The king told me that the only way to do that is to suppress your memories. If you don't think of them, then the magic can't take effect." Gray explained, "I'm not sure I'll be able to keep them hidden long enough. But if I am able to protect my memories of Fairy Tail and I'm still the same person when I'll this is over then I promise that I'll come back home."

"You seem to be doubting yourself." The master said, furrowing his brow.

"What?" The ice mage looked at him in confusion.

"You surprise me, Gray. You're usually more self confident than this."

"I guess I'm just afraid." he admitted.

"You may not have as much natural talent or the battle instincts of Natsu but you're extremely clever. And in this situation, I sense that wit will prove more useful than skill or instinct."

"Does—does this mean that you'll let me go?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"As much as I want you to stay, I understand that the people of Isvan need you. You need to follow your heart, wherever it may lead."

Gray went over and kneeled down in front of the man. "Thank you, master."

"Remember, you'll always have a home here, my boy."

"I hope I can come back to it someday. Now please, don't tell anyone else the reason why I'm leaving. They'll only want to come after me. And if my memories do end up becoming corrupted—I could end up hurting them."

"I understand. If you do end up needing rescuing I'll be sure to send somebody you don't know."

"Thank you."

Makarov smiled. "I really proud of you, Gray. You actually turned out a lot better than I though you would. It's quite remarkable when you consider the fact that this guild really wasn't the best influence."

Gray leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the old man.

"I really don't want to leave Fairy Tail." He whispered.

"Follow your heart, Gray, I'm sure it will lead you back home."

* * *

"Do you think Gray's really going to leave?" Happy asked, finally breaking the silence.

The team sat at a small table, lost in their own thoughts.

"No way." Natsu growled, "I'm not going to let that happen."

"You can't force him to stay." Erza said, "I won't allow it."

"Wait, don't tell me you actually agree with him?" Lucy asked in shock.

The scarlet hair woman looked at them grimly.

"I myself have considered leaving Fairy Tail several times; in order to go back and rescue my friends for the tower of heaven, but fear stopped me every time. I sense that Gray is feeling the same way and I don't want him to have to live with the same regret that I do. If leaving the guild is what he feels he has to do then I will not stand in his way."

"But that doesn't mean he has to be a stubborn ass and go it alone." Natsu protested.

"I don't want to let him leave either, but he seems to really think that he has to." Lucy murmured, "He must have a good reason for thinking that we'd only get in the way."

"He probably just wants all the glory for himself."

"I don't think so." Happy interjected, "Unlike you, Natsu, he thinks things through and doesn't act on emotional impulse."

"I don't care how much he's thought about it. Going alone is a stupid idea."

There was a loud crack as an armored fist connected with the fire mage's head. Natsu rubbed the forming lump and glared at Erza.

"If Gray is incapable of making the right decision then I'm sure that the master is. If he thinks that Gray is being foolish then he won't let him leave. I'll we can do now is wait." she explained

They all fell silent then and turned their attentions to the closed door of Makarov's office.

* * *

The morning was almost over when the Guild Master finally came out.

They all looked up as the short man approached them. He was frowning grimly which didn't board well for their expectations. No one said anything, they only waited for him to speak.

The Master took the time to look into each of their eyes before he spoke.

"Gray has explained everything to me." The man said sternly, "And I support his decision."

Natsu stood up from his seat, knocking his chair to the ground, and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Erza yelled after him.

"Nowhere." he growled back.

"But what about Gray?" Lucy protested.

"If he's really such a selfish jerk that he'd abandon his friends, then I don't want him in the guild."

"Natsu, wait!" Happy called as he flew out of the guild, after him.

The two female mages stared after them in shock and confusion as they watched them go. Erza then turned and looked at the master.

"When is Gray planning to leave?" she asked, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"Tomorrow morning."

"So he's really leaving then? And so soon?" Lucy asked, her eyes began to sting as tears started to well up inside them.

"I'm afraid so"

"He's—he's coming back some day right?"

Makarov shook his head, unable to say the word out loud.

Lucy grabbed hold of Erza then and started sobbing. The redhead placed an arm around the blond to comfort her then turned to the old man to question him.

"Can you tell us what it was that Gray told you?"

"I'll tell you as much as I can."

* * *

The ice mage had gone out through the back door. Hoping to avoid another confrontation so that the master would have time to explain everything to the rest of the guild. He knew he probably should have explained it to them himself, but he was afraid that they would try to force too much out of him.

He was heading back home in order to pack what he needed for his journey.

As he walked, Gray moved his hand to hover just above the right side of his chest. He shuddered as he thought of how easily he had erased his guild mark. He had expected it to hurt. He couldn't understand why, but it felt sickeningly wrong that it didn't, that it came off as easily as washing away a layer of dirt. He quickened his pace, trying to forget everything for a few moments before he would have to go back to Fairy Tail and say goodbye to everyone.

He only hoped that they wouldn't end up hating him for leaving.

* * *

As afternoon turned into evening the rest of the guild members returned to the guild hall after that days work to hear the news about Gray's departure. Makarov explained the situation to them as best he could, but pretty much anyone that was close to the ice mage took the news hard.

Cana was downing beer faster than you could pour it down the drain and yelling all manner of insults at him, even though he wasn't there.

Lucy summoned Loki from the celestial spirit world to explain everything to him. He immediately wanted to run off and find the ice mage, but his master commanded him to wait until Gray came back on his own.

Juvia was the worst. As soon as the water mage heard the news she collapsed in a puddle of her own tears. Her sobbing only became worse when they explained to her that she wasn't allowed to follow Gray to Isvan. She was now currently sobbing into Erza's chest as the scarlet haired woman comforted her with soothing words.

The rest of the members were dealing with it in their own way. There was plenty of drinking and yelling. The master was asked to explain it over and over again; repeating it to the same people several times. The girls tried not to cry and the men yelled out random threats of what they would do to the ice mage for leaving them.

It was on this sorry scene that Happy walked into. He immediately went over to where Carla was comforting Wendy and hugged the white cat. Seeing how distressed he was, she let him hug her without complaint.

"Hello Happy, where's Natsu?" Wendy asked.

Happy shook his head, rubbing his nose against soft fur. "I said he wanted to be alone and left me."

"He's coming to Gray's goodbye party isn't he?"

"I don't know."  
"How can you call this a party when everyone looks so gloomy?" Carla questions. She finally had enough of being touched and pushed the blue cat away.

"I'm sure everyone will cheer up once Gray arrives." Wendy said, trying to sound cheerful.

"I doubt it."

"Listen up everyone!" Erza's commanding voiced echoed throughout the hall, "I want every trace of melancholy gone by the time Gray gets here. Don't think of this as a goodbye party, but as a celebration of friendship between us and him. Let's not let his last night in Fairy Tail be one of tears, but of joy and laughter. Understand!"

Everyone murmured their agreement and the woman nodded in approval.

* * *

Gray was dead tired. Both from lack of sleep and the emotionally draining day he just had. And now he had to return to the guild and face everyone. Just the thought of it made him want to run back home and hide in his bed, then hop on the earliest train heading North the next morning. However, he really did want to see everyone one last time. He couldn't just leave without saying goodbye. And so he gritted his teeth and trudged into the guild hall.

Everyone immediately noticed that he was there. Gray braced himself for the onslaught of questions, punches, and threats. But instead, everyone simply smiled at him, waving and calling out his name. He looked at all of them in puzzlement. He could tell that they were forcing themselves to act happy for his sake.

"Come on in, Gray. Mira cooked up a feats for all of us!" Elfman shouted.

The ice mage forced a smile and slowly walked inside.

"Good to see you again!" Mocoa called out.

"Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable. The fun's just about to start." Warren suggested.

He was about to take a seat beside Lucy when Juvia walked up to him. Her eyes were red and puffy and her bottom lip quivered slightly when he looked at her. He knew he should say something to her, but he didn't know what.

"Juvia—" she started to say then stopped to clear her thought. "Juvia thinks that Gray-sama is so brave to leave Fairy Tail and fight to protect his homeland." Big round tears began to fall from her eyes as she spoke. "Even though Juvia would follow Gray-sama to the ends of the earth Juvia understands that Gray-sama needs to go alone so Juvia will wait here until he returns. Juvia will wait a hundred years if she has too."

He hadn't expected this. He thought he would have to threaten her with promises of never forgiving her in order to keep her from following him. Perhaps he hadn't given her enough credit.

He found himself unable to say anything to the sobbing girl in front of him so instead he cautiously wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She responded by locking him in a death grip and wailing into his chest. She cried for a solid minute and he was beginning to he would have to stay like that the whole night however she surprised him again by pulling away.

"Gray-sama should go spend time with his friends now." she said, wiping away her tears. "There's a lot of things they want to do with him before he leaves."

"Thank you." he said.

Juvia nodded, then walked away to go sit by Lisanna.

"Well, if Juvia can accept it then I guess I can." said Loki as he walked up to Gray from behind.

Gray turned around to face the spirit, surprised that he hadn't noticed he was there.

"But I still can't believe you're leaving Fairy Tail. I ought to punch you for how much this is hurting Lucy."

"Go ahead. I deserve it." Gray agreed.

"All right then." Loke said, pulling his fist back and slamming it into the other's face.

"Ow!" Gray exclaimed as he toppled to the floor. "You didn't have to hit me so hard."

"I thought you said-" Loki started to say but stopped when Gray grabbed his arm and pulled him to the ground.

The two boys wrestled for about a minute, then Elfman and Gajeel joined in. A few of the others joined in as well, for no other reason then that was what they always did and they wanted to make Gray feel as comfortable as possible.

About ten minutes into the fight Gray stopped and realized something was wrong. There was no over the top yelling or flaming punches being thrown. He stepped away from the fight. And walked over to Happy who was sitting by Erza and Lucy.

"Hey, where's Natsu?" He asked the blue cat.

The cat hung his head. "I don't know."

"That idiot. Don't tell me he's going to make me leave without saying goodbye. I'm going to go find him." Gray growled, then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lucy said.

"What now?"

"You have obligations to fulfill here. Everyone wants to spend time with you before you leave." Erza explained.

"Don't worry, I'll find him." Happy said.

"Thanks." The ice mage said.

The cat nodded the few out of the guild to go search for his stubborn friend.

* * *

Using his nose, Happy picked up Natsu's scent and followed it until he found him. The dragon slayer was sitting by a river bank, with his head pressed against his knees. As the blue cat cautiously walked over to him, he picked up the scent of salt water. There could be only one reason for Natsu to be crying, he only wished he knew what to say to comfort the boy.

"Hey, everyone's having a party at the guild. You should come."

"What kind of party." Natsu murmured. He didn't even move as Happy came up to him.

"It's a goodbye party for Gray."

"He doesn't deserve one."

"Gray really wants to talk to you, Natsu. Don't you want to—"

"I have nothing to say to him."

The cat flinched at the harshness of the other's tone. He fell silent for a moment, trying to think of what he should say next.

"You know Igneel had a reason for leaving you and I know Gray does as well." the fire mage flinched at the mention of his father, "Just because he's leaving doesn't mean he wants to. Igneel didn't want to leave you either. I know he really cares for you, Natsu. And it would hurt him a whole lost if he never got to say goodbye."

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled, lifting his head up to glare at the cat, "I don't care if it hurts him. He can run away to that frozen country and die for all I care."

"Natsu—" Happy reached out a paw to try and comfort his friend.

"Leave me alone!" he growled. "I want to be alone!"

"Gray doesn't want to be alone!" Happy burst out. "He wants to stay here at Fairy Tail and have fights with you and call you names and go on adventures with you, and everyone else. I don't really understand why he had to leave, but the least you could do is say goodbye to your best friend because he's probably never coming back!"

The fire mage didn't react, he only put his head back down. Tears fell from Happy's eyes and he turned around and flew away. Leaving the other alone with his thoughts.

* * *

The party ended in the way most Fairy Tail parties did; With everyone either asleep from exhaustion, passed out from too much alcohol, or knocked out in one of the brawls. So everyone was now unconscious and spread out on the floor, the tables, the bar counter, and other odd places. The only one who was still awake was Gray.

He had somehow ended sitting against a wall. Both Erza and Lucy were leaning against him with their heads resting on his shoulders. Little Wendy was curled up next to him with her head resting on his leg and her arms wrapped around Carla. Happy had fallen asleep on his lap.

He was profoundly thankful that he still had his close on or the situation would have been very uncomfortable. At least, more uncomfortable than it was. He was already starting to grow stiff, but he didn't dare move and wake the girls up. So he stayed there, surrounded by his friends, as they warmed up his normally cold body. He wanted to stay like this for as long as he could. Knowing that in the morning he would have to leave and pretend like he had never known them.

So he kept his eyes open for as long as possible before exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep, listening to gentle sound of soft breathing as his friends slept peacefully beside him.

* * *

Gray peeled his eyelids open and looked around. It was morning; he had just woken up, but everyone else was still asleep. He looked over to the clock that was on the wall to see if he still had enough time to catch the morning train. It was a little past seven so he had about an hour to get to the station. He weakly pulled his hand out from where Erza's armored back was crushing it and used it to shake the woman awake.

"Hmm?" she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

"I need to leave, Erza. But I want to say goodbye to everyone first." he whispered.

She nodded in understanding and stood up.

He then shook Lucy until she woke up.

"What's going on?" the blond asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Gray's leaving now." Erza explained.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. She looked at Erza then at Gray then snapped her fingers as if she had just remembered something.

"Hang on, don't leave yet. I need to get something first." She told the ice mage, then got up and ran out of the guild.

"What was that about?" Gray asked.

"I don't know, but right now we need to wake everyone up so you can have a proper Fairy Tail send off."

The ice mage nodded, then stood up. He stretched his body to work out the stiffness in his limbs, then began the task of shaking his guild mates until they woke up.

"Wake up, Cana." he said softly. When the card mage didn't respond, he shook her a little less gently and spoke directly into her ear. "Wake up I said!"

"Huh?" she mumbled. "Go away. Wanna sleep."

"I know. You can go back to sleep in a minute. I just want to say goodbye to you before I leave."

Cana eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to glare at him.

"That's right." she hissed. "You suddenly decided to become an unforgivable jerk and break your promise."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"Don't give me sorry." she yelled at him in rage. "You said you would never leave Fairy Tail. And now you're about to take off and never come back."

Most everyone else was now awake and staring at them.

"I'm sorry. I really am." He repeated, "I know I said that and I really meant it at the time. But now I realize how much I'm needed back in Isvan and leaving Fairy Tail is the only way I can help my country."

Cana continued to glare at him. As she stared into his pleading eyes, her face slowly softened until she sighed heavily.

"I guess I can't be too mad at you. I mean it's not like I've never seriously considered leaving the guild."

"So then you forgive me?"

She sighed again. "Fine. But I'm still mad at you."

"Is everyone one awake now?" Erza called out.

"The master's still passed out." Mira informed them.

"Where is he?" Gray asked.

"Behind the counter."

Gray went over to where the tiny man was sprawled out on the floor and knelt down. He reached out a hand and shook him until he woke up.

"Oh, hello, Gray." The man said, blinking up at him. "Did I drink too much again?"

The boy smiled down at him.

"I'm leaving now Gramps. And I need you to wake up so you can tell me those three rules I'm supposed to remember."

The old man looked at him in confusion for a few moments, then realization hit him and he shot to his feet.

"Right. We need to do that, don't we!"

"We have to wait for Lucy first." Gray said.

"I'm back!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran inside. "Where's Gray?"

"I'm over here." The ice mage answered, standing up and walking over to the blonde. She held a large stack of papers that were tied together with string.

"Here!" she said, shoving the papers into his chest. "You can take that and read it on your journey."

"What's this?" Gray asked, examining the gift.

"It's just a story I wrote. You're always sneaking peeks at my novels, so I thought I would let read one for once."

"That's really generous of you Lucy but aren't you going to try and get this published."

The blond sheepishly looked down at her feet.

"Not that one. That one's too—personal."

"Personal. Are you sure your okay with me reading it?"

"Yes, I want you to read it! Stop complaining and just—"

Lucy was cut off when Gray wrapped his arms around.

"Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome." she stammered.

"I'm going to miss you."

Tears began to fill the celestial spirit mage's eyes and she hugged her friend back, burying her face in his chest.

"I'm going to miss you too." she choked out.

"Goodbye, Lucy." he said, then let her go.

Then he went over to where Erza was standing. The proud mage that he held so much respect for was already shedding tears when he went up to embrace her.

"I'm sorry." she said as she pulled him close.

"For what?"

"For never telling you who much you mean to me. You were my very first friend at Fairy Tail. I love you Gray. You and Natsu both. You're like little brothers to me."

"I love you too. Big sister."

Erza gave him one last squeeze then let go.

"Goodbye, Gray."

"Goodbye, Erza."

Gray then went on to personally say farewell to everyone in the guild. Well, everyone that was there at least.

"Say goodbye to Gildarts for me." he said as he hugged Cana.

"Sure thing." she choked out.

Lisanna was next, then Elfman, who gave him a crushing bear hug, then Mira. Finally, he came to Juvia. The water mage stood there quietly and let him wrap his arms around her. This time she didn't try to strangle him, but gently hugged him back.

"I'm going to miss you, Juvia."

"Juvia misses Gray-sama already."

Gray had to stop himself from laughing at how cheesy that sounded.

"I want you to promise me that you won't try to come after me."

"But I-"

"Juvia, I would be heartbroken if anything were to happen to you. Please, just promise me you won't try to find me again."

"Juvia promises. She'll stay at Fairy Tail and wait for Gray-sama to come home."

"Thank you."

The girl's body started to shake in his arms as she broke down

"Goodbye, Juvia." he said and pulled away.

"G-good—" she tried to speak, but couldn't get the words past her sobs.

Lucy came over and wrapped an arm around the girl to comfort her. The ice mage stepped away from them went over to Happy. The cat immediately jumped up and latched onto his chest.

"I'm sorry, Gray." he cried, "I couldn't convince Natsu to come back."

"It's all right, Happy. You can tell him goodbye for me."

"But he won't be able to say goodbye to you." the cat wailed, "He's going to miss you Gray. And I'm going to miss you. Why can't you just stay?"

"I'm sorry. Promise me you'll look after him for me. Don't let him just mope around after I'm gone."

"Aye."

"Goodbye, Happy."  
"Goodbye."

The ice mage put the cat down, then turned his attention to the guild master.

"I'm ready now." he said.

Makarov nodded.

"Everyone, come and stand with me as we send this fairy off on a new path."

Everyone went over and stood behind the old man. Now with everyone facing Gray the Master began to speak.

"There are three oaths you must take before leaving Fairy Tail."

"First: You must never reveal any sensitive information about Fairy Tail to outsiders as long as you live!"

"Second: You must never use the clients you met through the guild for personal gain!"

"Third: Though our paths may differ, you must continue to live out your life with all your might! Never consider your life to be insignificant! And you must never forget about your friends, who love you."

All the blood rushed to Gray's face when he heard those last words.

Never.

Never forget your friends.

He couldn't do it.

He couldn't keep the final promise.

As soon as he left, he would have to break the third oath and force himself to forget everyone. He looked at all of his friends as they stared back at him. Almost all of them were either crying or trying to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry."

Then he turned and ran out of the hall, without saying another word.

* * *

He barely made it five blocks before his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. His whole body was shaking from the built up emotions inside of him. He finally broke down, oblivious to the people that stopped to stare at him, as he let the sobs overtake him.

His heart felt like it was being constricted. He had felt pain like this before. But it was still just as overpowering as before and put his body on lockdown. He felt numb. He couldn't think straight. He could barely move. If he tried to stand up, he would only fall again. So he stayed there, crying, letting out all the pain until he could function properly again.

He just knelt there, oblivious to the rest of the word. Until a pair of warm arms wrapped around his trembling frame and pulled him to his feet. He had to blink several times before he was able to make out who was holding him. He made out the blurry image of Natsu. Both relief and horror washed over him at the same time. He was glad that at least he would be able to see the fire mage one last time before he left. But Natsu was also the last person he wanted to be able to see him in such a broken state.

"Let go of me." he choked out.

"Sorry." the dragon slayer apologized and withdrew his arms.

Gray managed to steady himself and not topple over. Natsu's sudden arrive had managed to jar him half way out of his depression and he regained some sense of reason and control.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, unsure of what else to say.

"What are you doing here?" the ice mage asked, wiping his tears away with his sleeve.

"I-I came to say goodbye. But I'm still mad at you for even thinking of leaving."

"Happy said you weren't going to. Why'd you change your mind?" Gray asked, the tears had finally stopped falling and he looked accusingly at his rival.

Natsu shifted uncomfortably under the ice mage's stare. "I decided I had to see my best friend again before he left."

"You mean me?"

"Yes."

"I'm your best friend?"  
"Yes, do I have to draw a diagram for you Gray?" Natsu yelled, "You're my best friend and I'm going to miss you. All right?"

Gray broke into a small smile.

"Thanks." he said, "Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome." the dragon slayer said with a huff, then turned to walk away. "Well, that's all I had to say."

"Natsu wait!"

"What?" the fire mage turned around and glared at him.

"I'm going to miss you too."

"Yeah, well then you better hurry up and do whatever it is you have to do over there so you can come home again!" He yelled.

"Natsu—Natsu, I'm not going to be able to come back."

"That's a lie!" he roared, "That's a lie and you know it. You're going to come back someday and when you do, I'm going to kick your ass for taking so long."

"I really hope your right about that."

"Of course I'm right. Now hurry up and get going or you'll miss your train or whatever."

"All right, I'll go then."

"Goodbye, ice princess."

"Goodbye, flame brain."


	5. Making a Dent

Chapter 5: Making a Dent

* * *

Gray grimaced as his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten all day. But he didn't feel like eating. He had only left Fairy Tail that morning and the pain still clung to him as badly as it had the moment he walked away. The memory of everyone's crying faces still played out in his mind in a never ending cycle.

He had taken a midnight train heading North, since he also didn't feel like sleeping. There were only a few other passengers in the car with him. All three of them were snoring quietly. They had somehow managed to fall asleep in the uncomfortable seats.

Sliding his hand into his travel bag he pulled out the gift Lucy had given him. The large stack of papers were neatly tied together with a blue ribbon and the words "Keeping it Real, by Lucy Heartfilia" were written in the blond's best handwriting.

He thumbed through the pages of the short novel, wondering what he should do with it. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't afford to read it now. He needed to focus on forgetting the Celestial mage and the rest of the guild, the novel would only remind him of her. But he just couldn't throw it away, not when it was something his friend had worked so hard to create.

Finally, he came to a solution. Reaching his hand up, he tore off the first page and threw it away. Then he shoved the rest of the book all the way to the bottom of his traveling pack. He'd leave it there and hopefully forget about it until he had finished his quest. It would be like a reward for a job well done.

Now came the hard part; Forgetting Fairy Tail.

Bringing his legs up, he sat cross legged on his seat and closed his eyes. With an uneasy feeling in his chest and a determined look on his face, he pushed back the memories that he treasured so much, both the good and the bad. He forced, everything he knew about Fairy Tail into the furthest reaches of his mind.

But he couldn't just forget everything. That would leave a huge gaping hole in his memory; Leaving his life half empty. If his mission was going to be successful then there were things he needed to remember. Like what he had learned about fighting and magic during his time with the guild. If he forgot that then he would be nothing but an amateur.

Drawing in a breath, he pulled back to the earliest memory he had before finding Fairy Tail, then began the task of reimagining his life; Making up for himself a false set of memories to replace the ones he had to forget.

After finding his way to Fiore, instead of joining a guild, he ended being adopted, by a chubby bearded man named Silece, and an orange haired woman with a lovely round face, named Patty.

He concentrated on making the new memory as realistic and as vivid as possible. He stretched his imagination to its limit, coming up with as much details about his imaginary adoptive parents as he could.

After being adopted he had picked where he had left off. Studying ice magic and learning as much about it as he could. He made up a scenario where he had met one of Fiore's retired generals. The old man had agreed to teach him all he knew about fighting and combat strategies.

Of course he would need to ingrain the second life he had imagined deep into his memory. So, as he journeyed North, he spent every spare second he had going over it, replaying it in his mind, over and over, so that, when he was just outside of the boarder of Isvan, he had almost convinced himself that the fantasy was true.

* * *

It was the evening of the Six day of his journey when Gray's quest began to take an interesting turn.

The train screeched to a stop at the edge of a small town, less than twenty miles from the boarder. Unfortunately the railroad didn't travel all the way through Isvan so he would have to walk the rest of the way.

Gray stepped off the train and looked around at the town. It held a few small shops and an inn, but nothing else that was noteworthy. The only reason the train ran all the way out here was because there was a mining operation not too far off, and the large amount of coal that was dug up needed to be transported somehow.

"Aren't you cold?" he heard someone ask.

He looked over at a short woman who had gotten off the train with him. She gave him an odd look, then walked away. The ice mage stood there in puzzlement for a few seconds, then cursed as he realized that he had lost his coat. He immediately tried to get back on the train to go look, but they wouldn't let him back on.

Muttering under his breath, he turned away and began looking for a shop where he could purchase a new one. He didn't need one to keep warm of course, but if he was going to walk around with just a short sleeved shirt on in freezing cold weather he would stick out like sore thumb. And the last thing he wanted to do on a mission like this was stand out.

He walked into a general store and began scanning the shelves for a coat. A bald man with a blond mustache was working the counter.

"Do you have any coats?" He asked.

"To your left." the clerk informed.

Gray nodded at in thanks then turned and soon found what he was looking for. There were three coats. Two were too small and one was too big.

"Well, this is pathetic." He grumbled under his breath.

"Hey, what did you expect? With winter coming on of course we'd be almost sold out." the clerk said with a shrug.

Gray sighed, then tried on the one that was too big. It went all the way past his knees and the sleeves fell over his hands. The color had faded from it and it was now a dull brown. It was also patched in several places. He looked down at the price sticker on the sleeve. At least it was cheap, and seeing as he would probably just lose it again, he didn't want to bother buying anything better.

"I guess I'll buy this." Gray said, handing some money to the man.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Gray was about to leave then stopped and turned back when a thought hit him. Since he was here he might as well see if he could get some information.

"Hey, can you tell me something?" he asked.

The clerk looked back up at him. "What's that?"

"I hear Isvan's been going through some conflict lately, I was wondering if you knew any details about that."

The man's expression immediately darkened.

"I could care less about what been happening to that place. If they end up killing each other then that's fine with me. Then maybe our town can get some peace."

Gray blinked in confusion at the man's words.

"What have you got against Isvan?" He asked.

"If they didn't use my town as a loading dock for their illegal goods I might see them in a better light."

"Your—what are you talking about? They're transporting illegal goods form here?"

"There's no way for me to proof it, but everyone around here knows. They're using our own coal minds to sneak their dark magic passed the boarder then load it onto the train where they ship it off to somewhere else and sell it."

"You're sure of this?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've seen it with my own eyes. I used to work in the mines when it first started. There's a tunnel inside of the mine that they come out of in the middle of the night and load their goods onto the train."

Gray gritted his teeth at the man's story. "I need to put a stop to this?"

"Of course, this needs to end, but..." The man's voice trailed off as his mind processed what Gray had just said, "Wait did you say you needed to put a stop to this? You?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and I will." He repeated with determination.

"And how are you going to do that?" the clerk asked, speculatively.

"I'll probably just block off the tunnel. But I'll have to get a closer look at the situation first before make a final decision."

The man chuckled, obviously not believing a word the ice mage said. "Well, just be sure you don't collapse the mine when you do."

"I won't. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"That's all I know. If you want more information you'll have to ask the miners."

"And where is the mine?"

"About a quarter mile North of here."

"Thank you. You've been most helpful."

Gray waved a hand in farewell, then turned and left. He immediately began making his way over to the mine. It was dark when he reached it and the workers were starting to head home. Gray decided not to bother any of them with questions and when straight to investigating the mine itself.

It was dug into the side of a small mountain. He went inside only to find that it was completely dark. He cursed himself for not thinking of bringing a source of light and wondered what he should do next. He wouldn't be able to find anything in the dark. He stopped when mine was suddenly illuminated with light. He looked for the source and found a middle aged woman, standing at the entrance, holding a lantern and glaring at him.

"What do you think you're doing in there?" She growled at him. "I know you're not one of my miners. Quite snooping around."

"Sorry." Gray apologies as he walked over to her, "I was trying to find the tunnel that he dark mages use when they bring their magic over."

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. "And why would you want to do something like that?"

Gray quickly racked his brain for the best explanation he could give this woman.

"The king sent me to investigate. I'm here to put a stop to the smuggling of dark magic that's been happening here. I was told that they built a tunnel somewhere in this mine. Do you know where it is?"

The woman laughed. "Ha! That's a lie if I ever heard one. Why would the king send somebody now after all this time? He never cared about trying to stop the illegal trade before."

"But it is true!" Gray pleaded, "Why else would I be down here?"

"I don't care what your reason is. I'm the foreman of this mine and it's my job to keep rapscallions like you for sneaking in and messing the place up. Now get out and go home so I can do the same."

"I'm not leaving until I find the entrance. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course not. It's hidden with magic. Only a mage will be able to tell where it is, so there's no point in you wandering around looking for it. Now get out!"

"A mage will be able to see it? That's good because I am a mage."

"You're a what?" the woman's jaw dropped, then she closed it and laughed again, "Ha ha, I almost believed you there for a second."

"It's true. Here I'll show you." Gray said, and brought his hands together, there was a flash of light, then he opened his palm to revival a beautifully crafted rose made out of ice.

The woman's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"H-h-how did you do that?" she stammered, reaching a hand out to hover just above the ice creation.

"I told you I was a mage." Gray said with a smirk.

"Do it again." she said.

His smile broadened as an idea came to him.

"Sure thing. I'll even make you something-"

The woman's face lit up at the prospect.

"If you let me search your mine for the tunnel."

"Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you while you do it. No funny business, and you better keep your word."

Gray thanked the woman and she grudgingly began to lead him through the mine. As the continued further in the smell of coal grew thicker and the ice mage pulled his coat up to cover his mouth and nose. He kept his eyes peeled for any sign of the concealed tunnel.

After walking halfway though they had no luck until Gray caught something out of the corner of his eye. He immediately stopped and motioned for the woman to do the same.

"Bring your light over here." he told her.

She brought her lantern up to where he had indicated.

"I don't see anything." she said in annoyance.

"It's dark right here." he said, pointing at the wall, "Even with the light's right next to it it still looks like there's a shadow on it."

"I still don't see it."

"Then I guess this must be the tunnel entrance."

"I guess." the woman shrugged.

Gray brought his hand up to tough the wall. To his shock his hand went right through it into the shadow. The woman leapt back in horror.

"y-your h-hand!" she stammered.

The ice mage quickly pulled his hand back out.

"What was that? Your hand disappeared into the rock?"

"There is no wall here." Gray explained. "It's only magic that's making it look like there's a wall."

"Amazing. I've probably looked at this spot a million times and never saw any difference."

"Yes, thank you for all your help." he said with a nod

"D-don't mention it."

"What would you like me to make?"

"Huh?" the woman looked at him in confusion.

"You helped me so now I'll make you whatever you want out of ice."

"Ice?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes, I use Ice creation magic."

"I thought it was crystal."

"No just ice. And I'm sorry to say that my creations aren't permanent. It will only last until winters over."

"That's fine. I'll probably just lose it before then. I'm always loosing things."

"What would you like me to make."

She thought for a moment, then lifted her hand and held it in front of him.

"Make me a bracelet. A really beautiful one. Like the flower you made before."

"Are you sure? It is ice, so it will make your wrist cold."

"I'll just wear it over my sleeve dummy now hurry it up so I can go home."

Gray nodded, then concentrated on picturing a bracelet in his head. He then formed it out of this magic and handed it to the woman. She snatched it from him with glee and held it up to the light to examine it. The ban was just large enough to fit over her hand and was decorated diamond shapes that glistened as the light bounced off it.

"Do you like it?" he asked, noticing how she smiled at it.

"It's alright." she said, suddenly putting on a frown to hide how pleased she was, "Now I best be going."

"Wait." Gray said, stopping her.

"What?" she growled at him.

"I hate to bother you with anything else. But can I have your lantern? I need to be able to see in order to get through the tunnel."

"And what are you going to do once you get to the other side."

"I'll probably block off the entrance."

She looked at him skeptically.

"All right. But I'm not giving it to you for free."

"What else do you want me to make?"

"A necklace, to go with the bracelet."

The ice mage did as she asked, forming a necklace with a similar design so it would match. She eagerly snatched it from him and handed him the lantern. Then she turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Gray called after her. "Won't you need light to find your way out?"

"I know this mine like the back of my hand. I'll be fine," she called back.

The ice mage yelled out one last thank you before he turned his attention back to the tunnel. Taking a breath, he stepped through the shadow and onto the other side.

* * *

The tunnel was surprisingly wider than Gray had expected, nearly five feet in width. It was however just tall enough for him to be able to stand upright. After looking around, he started walking. He soon found that he didn't even need the lantern. The floor was almost flat, making it so that there was very little risk of him tripping on anything. The tunnel was also almost straight with only a few slight curves here and there.

As he trudged forward, he stayed alert for any sign of danger. The store clerk did say that they came out at night to load the train. And since he knew that there was a train waiting outside, ready to be loaded, he assumed that he'd be running into someone at some point.

Sure enough, after a good twenty minutes of walking a heard voices up ahead. He carefully set his lantern down. Taking his coat off, he covered the light with it, then looked back in the direction the voices were coming. He could see a pail blue light fare ahead and slowly began to creep towards it, trying his best not to make any noise.

As it drew nearer he saw that there were two men. One was holding up a glowing lacrima and the other was pushing a cart.

Once they were close enough for him to get a good shot he silently formed a bow and arrow out of his ice magic and aimed a shot at the closest of the two. The arrow struck the man in the chest, but instead of piecing him it transformed into a large sheet of ice, encasing him up to his neck. Gray smiled with satisfaction; it had taken him a while to learn that trick. The lacrima he was carrying fell to the ground, but continued to glow.

The two men immediately cried out in shock and fear. The second one ducked behind Gray's ice for cover. Gray shook his head at their pathetic actions. These guys were nothing but grunts. He didn't even need to bother with a sneak attack. He stood up and began walking over to them, hands at the ready to cast whatever spell he might need.

"Johnny, stop cowering and get me out of this!" The man he had trapped yelled at the other.

"Ga! He's coming!" The other cried when he saw Gray, he immediately turned and ran back as fast has he could, knocking over the cart as he went and spilling its contents all over the ground.

"Get back here!" the first man yelled out before turning his attention to Gray, "Stay back, I'm warning you."

"Yeah? And what are you going to do when you can't even move." Gray sneered, "Don't worry I'm not hear to hurt you. I just want some answers."

The man looked a little relieved at that.

The ice mage made himself a dagger and brought it up to the other's neck.

"Tell me, who do you work for?" He demanded.

The man gulped, then opened his mouth to speak.

"I-I'm not sure."

Gray pressed the sharp edge tighter against the man's neck.

"It's true." he hurriedly said, "I haven't even seen the man's face. He just gives me my assignments, I do them, and I get paid.

Deciding he was telling the truth, Gray questioned him further. The man was more than willing to tell him everything he knew in order to save his own hide. Unfortunately, he didn't know very much. The only useful thing he was able to tell him was the name of a pub, Scarlet Bread, where he got his assignments. Gray looked down at the cart they had been transporting and it's spilled content, lacrima crystals.

"And what are those for?" he asked, inclining his head to indicate what he meant.

"I don't know exactly how they work, but I was told that they were used for trapping the souls of the dead. It was a special order I think."

Gray looked back down at the objects in disgust, then turned his attention back to his captive. He reached his hand out and touched the ice surrounding him, melting all of it except what was surrounding his arms. He immediately fell to his knees, then scrambled away form the ice mage.

"I suggest you find someplace warm to melt that off before you get frost bit.

The man shakily stood up and began to run back the way he came as fast as his frozen legs could take him. Gray looked away from the man and back at the lacrima crystals.

"Ice Make: Hammer." he said.

A large hammer formed in the air and crashed down on the evil bits of magic, crushing them, so they could never be used for their intended purpose.

"Now all that's left is to find the exit and collapse this tunnel." he muttered. He picked up the glowing lacrima and his coat before he continued his walk.

He hadn't walked more than three hours before weariness began to set in. But he wasn't about to take a nap while inside an enemy tunnel. If what the store clerk had told him was true and that this tunnel went all the way to the boarder then he wasn't even halfway through yet. So he kept on walking... and walking... and walking.

Eight more hours passed and he still hadn't seen any sign of the exit. He suddenly stopped and put his hand up against the tunnel wall. Something was wrong; the ground all around him was vibrating, not a lot, but just enough that he noticed it. He also felt something else. It was so faint that after it had gone and the shaking had stopped, he wondered if he had imagined it.

"Demon magic?" he murmured.


	6. The Scarlet Bread

Chapter 6: The Scarlet Bread

* * *

About ten leagues from the boarder of Isvan lay a small town. It was in the middle of nowhere with nothing but pine trees and frozen ground for miles. It was the middle of the day and the inhabitants were milling about, preparing for the winter. And in this small town a very disgruntled looking woman was navigating through its streets.

She was dressed in a black cloak, a hood covering her short blond hair. She stepped up to the local pub, the words "The Scarlet Bread" were written on the sign above the door. She stepped inside and her eyes immediately fell on a defeated looking man who was warming his hands by the fire. She strolled over and grabbed him forcefully by the shoulder. His head whirled around, and cringed when he saw who it was.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Ouch, your hands are looking pretty bad. What happened, Casey? Did you forget to wear your gloves?" the woman asked, grimacing at the sight of his off colored skin that showed the tell tail signs of frost nip.

"Yeah, like you care." he said, rolling his eyes.

"You're right, I don't. Now would you mind telling me how our tunnel system collapsed yesterday? And why you never finished your delivery?"

"It was that blasted ice mage." the man growled.

"Ice mage?"

"Yeah, how do you think my hands ended up like this." he said, throwing his hands up so she could get a better look.

"And you couldn't handle him? There were two of you weren't there?"

"Like Johnny was any help. That coward ran away after the first hit." he grumbled.

"Oh, and if you didn't run away, then how come you're still alive?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just leave me alone. After I finish treating my hands, I'll out of here."

The woman snarled, then grabbed the man by his collar and jerked him up so that their noses were only inches apart. He stared in horror at her red glowing eyes as she spoke menacingly to him.

"You aren't going anywhere until we find out what exactly happened." she then smiled, her lips curving up just slightly, "You know I think it's time you met the leader of our little operation."

The man's eyes shot wide open and he struggled to get free. The woman tightened her grip and mutter a spell under her breath. His struggles slowly stopped as he fell limp in her grasp, seeing nothing but darkness.

* * *

He must have picked the wrong direction because he had now been walking for almost two hours and hadn't seen anything but trees and the occasional squirrel. He had picked that direction because he had seen a mountain in the distance and decided had to head towards it. At least that way he knew he would still be going in the same direction.

He sighed contentedly, even if he was lost, it was nice to finally be out of those tunnels. The unerringly quite was replaced by the sounds of the forest animals as they scurried about, finding whatever food was left before winter came, giving off a sence of tranquility. As if the impending chaos that was about to erupt didn't exist. The atmosphere was only spoiled by the toxic magic in the air that he now knew was a sign of the evil this country was engulfed in. He would have enjoyed it more if he still wasn't so tired.

After another few minutes of walking he gave up on finding a way out for the time being and collapsed on the ground, finally giving in to his exhaustion and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

When he woke up it was the morning of the next day. As he stood, he heard noises off in the distance. It sounded like the ground was being stomped upon by hundreds of feet. He cautiously made his way towards it. As he got closer he could see through the trees several men, all in a uniformed, green colored armor, marching passed.

He stepped closer, careful to keep hidden behind the trees. They didn't march in any kind of synchronized order. At least as far as Gray could tell. Judging from the colors they bore these were the rebel.

The ice mage ran back, an uneasy feeling building up in his stomach. So the rebels were forming an army against the king? It was a stomach turning thought. But, he had expected this, the growing anger everyone felt was about to erupt into something terrible at some point in the near future. He doubted they even had any justifiable reason for going to war. It was only to unleash all that built up rage on something

Gray looked back to where he could still hear the sound of marching feet. At least one good thing came of this. He could travel in the same direction they were and find a way out of the forest.

* * *

Casey wasn't the violent type. Oh, he'd get into a brawl or two, but nothing dangerous. He'd like if he was able to stay alive as long as possible and would go to great lengths to keep himself safe from any risk of danger. So when he was tied up and driven by carriage to the second largest city in Isvan in order to meet the leader of the largest black magic operation in the world he went into an overly panicked state of anticipation.

The city of Persitian was built right next to the largest mountain range in the country. The reason it grew so large was because of the large deposits of silver found around that area. Huge amounts of rock were dug up along with the precious metal and used to build the walls, houses and street of the city, giving it a dull gray coloring.

But Casey didn't get to see the city. He was blindfolded before they even went through the gates and dragged along into some unknown building before having his blindfold torn off and thrown to the ground in front of someone.

He slowly looked up as his eyes adjusted to the light and gazed up at the person before him.

He was a man of average height and build. His jet black hair was cut just passed his ears. His long face sagged slightly with age, especially around his dark eyes. A large amount of stubble covered his lower face and he wore a ragged brown cloak. But his most prominent feature was the large scare just above his left eyebrow.

"Areanna," the man addressed the woman who had brought him in, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be keeping tabs on our shipping in the second quadrant."

"I know," said said, putting a hand up, "But we ran into a little trouble."

She then kicked Casey in the ribs making him yelp in pain.

"But this man let a little mouse get through our rat hole and blow the place up."

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise then turned to glare down at Casey. The restrained man's fear filled eyes darted around the dark room as if looking for a way to escape.

The dark haired man stepped forward, then grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up. He grabbed his chin with the other hand and turned his face so that he was looking straight into his eyes.

The man's spinning thoughts, then froze the moment their eyes met. For a split second his mind was completely empty before his head exploded into a torrent of aching pain, blocking off all his other senses. He would have screamed, but his tongue caught in his throat, leaving him only to trembled as small whimpers escape his lips. The man above him scowled before finally letting go and watching him topple to the ground.

Areanna, who had been watching in silence spoke up.

"What did you find out?"

"He won't get far. I know where he'll be going." he then tore his gaze away from the convulsing man on the floor and up at the woman and grinned maliciously. "I think I'll go out and catch our little mouse myself."

* * *

It didn't take long for Gray to get ahead of the army. It seemed that they had been following a small forest path. Walking along it, he finally made it out of the forest and into open country. Looking ahead he could see the smoke of chimney fires. That was good, he must be heading towards a small town. And if it he was lucky it would be the one that mage had told him about.

"What was the name of that pub again?" he muttered to himself, "Scarlet Bread. That was it."

When he reached the small town it was already late and most of the inheritance were inside their homes eating dinner. He wandered around until he found the local bar. When he found it, he broke into a grin at his good fortune. If the sign above the door was any indication, than this was the place where that man got his assignments and, where he hopefully would be able to get more information on the black magic market.

He stepped inside and looked around. The place was small but that wasn't unusual considering the size of the town. A tall maiden was standing in the middle of the room, playing on a lute and singing loudly. He couldn't tell who she was singing for, seeing as the place was mostly empty.

Gray scanned the room, trying to figure out how to begin his investigation. At first glance none of these people seemed to be mages. He decided to take a seat and just observe for the moment. He sat down next to a middle aged looking man who already had nine beer cups stacked beside him. The man gave him an odd look, then turned his attention back to his drink.

"What's you pleasure, sir?"

Gray turned his attention to a brown haired barmaid who was forcing a smile at him.

"Got anything to eat?" he asked her.

The woman nodded. "The cooks cooked up a whole mess of vegetable soup tonight. Would that suit your fancy?"

"That would fine, thank you."

She nodded again, then turned away.

As he watched her leave a man had come up behind him and grabbed one of his shoulders. Gray immediately whirled around.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The man asked, smiling at him

"I'm just passing through." Gray said, swatting the hand away and glaring at the man.

"A traveler then? It's unusual to find dravelers around this time of year, especially with all the trouble that's been brewing. Where are you going exactly?" he asked, widening his smile.

"Why do you want to know?"

There was something wrong about this guy. There was nothing unusual about the way he looked except for the scar above his eye. But why was he being so friendly? This was highly unusual considering the fact that the evil surrounding Isvan had supposedly sucked all the good cheer out of the country. Gray stood up so that he could be ready if the man tried anything.

"Hold on now there's no need to get upset." the man said, throwing his hands up, "I was just curious."

"It's none of your business now back off." he growled threateningly.

The man slowly lowered his hands as his smile turned into a frown. His brow creased together and his voice changed to a low and menacing tone.

"Oh, I think that it is my business. That is if your the same boy that collapsed the tunnel that I had worked so hard to build."

Gray's mouth fell open in surprise. He quickly regained his composer, however and threw his hands together in the familiar ice make stance.

"What do you know?" Gray growled, "Tell me or I'll cut your throat."

The man's mouth curved into a sneer. "Oh? Then why don't you try?" he dared.

"If that's the way you want it then."

He began calling on his magic, forming what he wished to create in his mind, but before his creation was fully realized an unexpected pain shot through his head, shattering the image he held there. He gasped and clutched at his head.

"What's the matter, ice mage? I thought you were going to cut my throat?" he said with a crooked grin.

The pain inside his head doubled and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out.

"What is going on here?" someone yelled.

Gray turned his head slightly to see the barmaid rushing over to them, carrying a bowl of hot soup. It seemed that the woman had distracted his assailant, because the spell he had him under suddenly grew weak. When the pain lessened and Gray took that opportunity to tackle the man. He pinned him to the ground with his legs and brought his hands together to form a weapon.

"Ice Make—"

But before the spell was complete, his mind was intruded again by the head splitting pain. It was worse than before and when it hit he lost all sense of the world around him for a few seconds.

He felt a hand reach behind his head and grabbed a fist-full of Gray's hair. Then his head was yanked down his head so it was only inches away the other's black orbs. The man beneath him stared unblinkingly into his pain filled eyes.

The ice mage growled through clenched teeth. It felt like there was something tangible inside his head, exploring every corner of it. Poking and prodding him.

"So you've suppressed your memories." the man muttered under his breath.

Gray barely heard him. He could barely even see him now. Black spots danced before his eyes and his he could feel his body growing numb.

"Let's dig a little deeper then." the man's brow furrowed in concentration and his grip on the boy tightened.

He screamed as he saw nothing but pure white. It then felt like a part of his brain had been ripped out of his skull. He couldn't think, he couldn't even breath.

Then it stopped. The pain suddenly left and his vision slowly returned. He took in large gulps of air as he tried to regain control of his breathing. Once he could see clearly he looked up from where he lay on the ground. The man above him was staring at him, his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

"Y-y-you're," he stammered, then shook his head, trying to compose himself, "Your Ur's-" he stopped, unable to finish.

"Y-yeah, I'm Ur's disciple." Gray said as he slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. His body felt somewhat disconnected from his brain and didn't respond immediately when he told it to more.

His assailant's shock expression slowly faded and turned into one of rage. He stood up and glared down at him. As soon as their eyes met, Gray felt as if something had collided with his forehead and he fell to the ground, unconscious.


	7. Obey Orders and Stay in Line

Chapter 7: Obey Orders and Stay in Line

* * *

When Gray was drawn back into consciousness the first thing he noticed was a dull ache inside his head; that and an enormous presser cracking against his ribs. He opened his eyes, squinting as they adjusted to his new surroundings.

"Get up you, so I can pound your brains in. I owe you a good beating for the mess you've gotten me into."

There was a man standing above him, a look of pure rage was set on his face and he had his foot planted firmly on top of the ice mage's chest. Gray quickly grabbed the foot and shoved it off of himself, then sat up; or at least he would of if he wasn't suddenly grabbed up by the collar and hosted a couple of inches above the ground.

"I ought to kill you. Though I don't think it makes much of a difference since will both end up dead anyway." the man growled.

"Put me down." Gray yelled and shoved a knee into the man's stomach. He was immediately released as his assailant clutched at his belly.

"You little brat!" he hissed, taking a step back.

"Who are you?" Gray demanded, "And where am I?"

The man shook his head at him, "Why don't you take a look around. I'm sure you'll figure it out!"

Gray starred at him in puzzlement for a few seconds, then took his suggestion and examined his surroundings. He was in a tent, two bedrolls were laid out on the ground, but nothing else was in it. He then pulled back the tent flap and took a look outside.

It was still dark out, but the sun was starting to rise, giving Gray just enough light to see where he was. About a hundred different tents were set up around the one they were in. The place was surrounded by a log fort about ten feet high. As he examined it more intently he could see a few people were walking about. He recognized them immediately as soldiers.

"How the heck did I end up inside of a rebel camp?" he growled, closing the tent flap and whirrling to the man.

"It's called getting drafted, boy." the man hissed through gritted teeth, "And I was doing just fine avoiding it untill you came along and got us both dragged into this bloody war."

"How is this my fault? All I remember is fighting a dark mage and getting knocked out."

"You screamed remember? You yelled and that brought these guys," he gestured outside, "running over, soon as they showed up that creepy guy you were fighting ran off. Then they grabbed up you and me and brought us here. You were out for the whole thing and just now woke up."

"Wait?" Gray stared at the man intently, then something clicked. "Your the drunk from the bar?"

"My name is Ren, and I'm not a drunk."

"I'm so confused." Gray clutched at his head, it still ached and he was feeling slightly dizzy.

"You're not very bright are you."

He was about to retort when a horn sounded throwout the camp and the sound of scuffling feet was heard.

"What does that mean?"

"How should I know. I just got here and they haven't told me anything yet."

The horn sounded again.

"It's probably telling us it's time to wake up and come outside." Gray guessed.

They both silently stepped out of the tent. A crowd of soldiers were all gathering in the middle of the camp. Gray and Ren followed close behind. Standing at the back.

"They're not very organized." The ice mage muttered, observing the semi-ordered mess of people that surrounded them.

"Well, what did you expect? The rebel army sprang up practically overnight. You can't expect then to have everyone already trained and standing in pretty rows now can you?" Ren drawled. He tried to act casual but Gray could tell that the man was nervous.

"What was the big hurry?"

"Beats me. I'm not even sure why they want to oppose the king."

He wondered for a moment if he should try and leave. He was sure that he'd be able to escape, but it was unlikely that he'd be able to accomplish that without causing a commotion. He still needed to return to the capital and meet back up with the prince as soon as possible. But since he was here he might as well get more information on what exactly the rebels were up to.

The horn sounded one last time and everyone fell silent.

"I need fifty men to volunteer for a raid." a loud voice boomed over the crowd.

Gray strained his neck to see who was speaking. He could make out a tall bearded man wearing a brown bear's skin over his shoulders. A serious scowl was etched across his face.

Several men began raising their hands, then stepping off to the side.

"Who's that?" he wondered aloud.

"Probably the captain." Ren replied.

"The rest of you get to work on breaking camp. I want to be ready to march within the hour" the man said after he had gathered up the required numbers.

There were a few shouts of affirmation, then everyone walked off and began packing up and taking down tents. Gray and Ren just stood there, looking around and wondering what they were supposed to do.

"Oy! You two. Get to work or I'll have you beaten for slacking off!"

They both turned to see the man with the bear skin from before strutting over to them.

"Well, I would if I knew what was going on." Ren said, trying not to let his anger show.

"What kind of excuse is that?"  
"Sorry," Gray interrupted, "But we just go here today. Would you mind telling us what we're, suppose to do."

The man blinked at them a few times before he realized who they were. He sighed and rested his head on his palm. "Your those two guys Clamer brought over aren't you?" The then turned his head and yelled at a tall skinny man who was ordering people about. The man immediately stopped what he was doing and came over.

"Yes, captain?" he asked dryly.

"Clamer, why'd you bring these two here. This isn't a training camp."

"What? You want me to let two strong men go to waste?" he said, sounding offended, "If they can't fight then I'm sure you can find something for them to do. If you can't think of anything, then give 'em to me; they can replace my pack horse that you let get killed in our last battle."

He shot the man a glare, then turned to them.

"Can you fight?"

Ren quick stated a flat no. Gray nodded, but didn't say anything. The man looked sceptically at then for a moment, then turned back to Clamer.

"You can do what you want with them for now. I'll deal with them once we get to our destination." he then turned back to Gray and Ren.

"Don't try anything funny or you'll be dead before morning." he warned then stalked off.

Clamer shook his head, then addressed them.

"Come with me." he said and began walking off motioneing for them to follow him.

They walked silently through the camp until they stopped in front of a large tent. The man told them to wait outside, then went in. In a few minutes he came back carrying two large packs.

"These are what you'll be carrying once we set out." he said, throwing them on the ground, "But for now you can get to work taking down this tent."

Gray and Ren both glanced at each other then turned to the tent and started with their task. It took them probably longer than it should have to figure out how to take then tent down and then pack it up. Once they were done it seemed like the camp was almost ready to leave.

Gray was just trying the last string in place when a wave of dizziness came over him and he clutched at the Ren for support.

"What is wrong with you boy?" he yelled and shoved him away.

"Sorry," Gray apologized as he steadied himself, "I just felt a little dizzy."

"Why? Did you hurt your head in that fight?"

Gray thought back to the fight he had with the dark mage. He must have looked at his memories. That was how he had found out that he had known Ur. The aching in his head and the dizziness was probably just a side effect of his magic. At least that was what he hoped.

"Are you finally finished?" a voice asked impatiently.

They both looked over to see Clamer coming over to them.

"We're about ready to leave. Grab your packs and head over to the fort entrance. I'll meet you there."

They both nodded to show they understood then went to do what they were told.

"Man, these things are heavy." Ren complained.

Gray picked up his pack and mumbled in agreement.

* * *

"May I ask where we're going?" Gray asked as they began their march.

Clamer glared down at him from where he sat atop his horse.

"We go wherever Ulfrick tells us. That's all you need to know."

"Ulfrick? Is he the leader of the rebellion?"

The man's eyes widened in shock "Of course he is. Have you been living under a rock for the past year boy?"

"You could say that." Gray said, looking down at his feet.

He didn't ask any more questions, doubting he'd get any answers. They continued on in silence except for the occasional murmur from the men marching.

He had hoped to be able to find out a little more about what was going on but it seemed that they didn't have any intention of telling him. At least they were headed in the general direction of the capital so he wouldn't have to backtrack after this. Maybe once they stopped for the night he could do some investigating.

The hours passed as they continued to do nothing but march without stop. The throbbing in Gray's head seemed to grow worse with every step he took. He looked down at the soft layer of snow that covered the ground and wonder resting his head on it would help to dull the pain.

They were now trudging through a mountain pass, following the wide river that flowed through it. The sun was now high in the sky and the brightness of it only caused Gray's head to swim. The world around him started to spin and he had to keep all his concentration on putting one foot in front of the other to keep from falling over and the heavy weight on his back wasn't helping

"Please let us stop soon." He pleaded under his breath.

Ren looked over at him and saw that he was breathing hard and sweat was pouring down his face.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked, "You seem to be barely keeping up. Is it your head again?"

"Yeah." he breathed out.

"I think there's a village at the end of this pass. We might end up stopping there."  
Gray was about to reply when Ren suddenly stopped.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Someone calling for help."

Gray strained his ears; the throbbing in his head seemed to have dulled his hearing. Then he heard it; the sound of splashing and a child calling for help. He immediately looked to the river and scanned it for any sign of who would be yelling out. Carried by the current and coming towards them was a small boy, thrashing wildly.

Gray suddenly forgot all about his pain. He threw off his pack(somehow his coat and shirt came with it) and rushed to where the boy was. In the back of his head, he could hear Ren yelling something at him but it didn't register. Just as he dove in the boy's struggling had stopped and he sank down into the freezing cold water.

In a matter of seconds he had grabbed the boy and began pulling him to shore. When he was almost there, Ren reached a hand out and grabbed him, helping him onto the bank. He placed the boy onto the ground and then collapsed next to him.

He barely had a moment's rest, however. The captain stormed over to him, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him to his feet. The sudden movement caused his dizziness and he moaned in pain.

"What is the meaning of this!" he roared into the ice mage's ear.

Gray flinched at the harsh noise, but didn't respond.

"I'll not have anyone breaking ranks in my division! Now answer me boy!"

The ice mage looked down at the who was still lying unconscious on the ground, then looked the captain in the eyes.

"You would have preferred that I let him drown?" he asked through gritted teeth.

The grip on his arm tightened as the captain stared down at him. "You're to obey orders. That is all."

"What happened?" Clamer asked as his horse trotted over. He looked at the boy lying on the ground. "He must be from the village up ahead."

"Get back in line, all of you!" the captain yelled at the soldiers that were stareing at them. He gave Gray a shove, then released his arm and walked back to the front of the procession.

He staggered a bit before regaining balance. Then he knelt down next to the boy and checked his breathing. He seemed fine except for the fact that his body was now way too cold. He pulled him out of his drenched clothes and wrapped the boy in his own coat. Then he threw his shirt and pack back on and silently fell into place behind Clamer's horse, holding the boy safely in his arms.

Clamer looked down at Gray intently. The ice mage noticed this and wondered if the man would yell at him for bringing the boy.

"Be sure you don't fall behind." he ordered.

Gray nodded and sighed with relief.

* * *

As they continued their march Camer kept a close eye on Gray. There was something odd about him, he knew it wasn't just his behavior, but he still couldn't quite place it.

He glanced over his shoulder at the boy. He was still holding on to the freezing child tightly, trying to warm him up he assumed. Then realization dawned on him.

The boy was walking around after diving into freezing water, with clothes completely soaked through and he wasn't even shivering. His brow furrowed in puzzlement. This was odd, very odd.


	8. Linked

Chapter 8: Linked

* * *

They had almost reached the small village when the bundle in Gray's arms started to stir. He looked down at the child and saw that the boy's eyes were now open and staring at him in wide eyed confusion.

"It's alright." He reassured him, "You almost drowned, but I was able to pull you out at the last minute. Your home's just up ahead. We're almost there."

The boy blinked a couple of times, then opened his mouth to speak only to erupt into a coughing fit. Then he closed his eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness. Gray check the child's temperature. It was a good thing they were almost there because the boy needed to warm up as quickly as possible.

It was now almost evening when they entered the village. The captain immediately ordered for camp to be set up. Gray ignored this however, and focused on trying to find the boy's family. He quickly threw off his heavy pack and ran up to the first villager he saw; a brown haired girl who looked to be about fourteen.

"Excuses me, do you know who this child belongs to?" he asked.

The girl glared at him and took a step back.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"That doesn't matter right now. This kid needs to get someplace warm. Do you recognize him?"

She cautiously came over to get a good look at the child.

"That's Denise's son. What did you do to him!" she exclaimed, and looked up at him with shock and anger.

"Me? I saved him from drowning. But he's freezing to death right now. Can you show me where his family lives?"

"I'll take him. You've done enough already." she growled.

"I told you I-"

Gray didn't get to finish as the girl snatched the child away from him then ran off. He stood in a daze.

"Has the dark magic speared all the way out here?" he muttered.

He shook the thought out of his head and went back to where they were setting up camp.

He found Ren yelling curses at a tent as he tried to figure out how to set it up. The ice mage grudgingly lent him a hand. By the time they had it set up properly the rest of the camp was also set up and the men were already lighting up fires and cooking their dinner. As the smell of food entered his nostrils Gray's stomach growled, reminding him that he had barely eaten anything that day.

"Are they going to feed us?" he wondered.

"They better." Ren replied, "After marching all day I feel about ready to faint."

They both walked over to one of the roaring fires in hopes of getting some food. Unfortunately for Gray the picked the one fire that the captain was sitting at. As soon as the man saw Gray he stood up to glare down at him.

"There will be no food for you tonight, boy." he spat, "You'll receive the rest of your punishment tomorrow, but for now you can suffer threw the night on an empty stomach."

Anger began to boil up inside him. He wanted nothing more then to punch the guy's face in at that moment. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew that the captain was only acting in such anger because of the darkness corrupting everyone he probably would have done so. Instead, he settled with giving him a defiant glare, then turning around and walking back to his tent.

As soon as he stepped inside, he collapsed on his bedroll, eager to give in to his exhaustion and let sleep take over. As soon as he closed his eyes, however, the spinning inside his head increased violently. Gray immediately sat up. His stomach turned and he was thrown into a coughing fit, spitting up bile and whatever bits of food were still left in his stomach.

He sat there, panting heavily for almost a minute as the world blurred and spun around him. He finally fell back to the ground and curled into himself, digging his hands into his hair.

"What is happening to me?" he gasped in between pants.

* * *

In a darkened room, a mage sat, finally taking a break for the pressures of running a major black magic operation to concentrate on a more... interesting task.

The ice mage had certainly buried his memories deep, but he would dig them up again. The link he had set up between the boy's mind and his own made that a certainty. As soon as he thought up even the smallest memory, he would be there to snatch hold of it. Until then he would continue to put pressure on the mage's mind, prodding at it until he knocked something loose.

"Why don't you just relent," he muttered in frustration, "You can't hold on to them forever."

"_Why do you carry such an interest in this ice mage."_ a hollow voice echoed inside of the dark mage's head.

The man jerked in surprise.

"You haven't spoken up in a while. What's the occasion."

"_I want to know why you__'__r__e__ so fascinated with this ice mage. You should stop playing around and put an end to him._"

"Why?"

"_He possess__es__ a powerful magic that is specifically made to slay my kind. He cannot be allowed to progress any further in his goals._"

The dark mage scoffed. "He's not a threat. He'll be even less of one once I get a hold of the memories he so carefully hid away."

"_Y__our__ petty human emotions are going to have nothing to do with my plans._"

"They won't get in the way. You just concentrate on getting your strength back an I'll worry about everything else."

The voice left him then. Leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, recalling again what he had seen in the boy's memories. He had heard rumors of how Ur had died, but now he had gotten to see it. She died fighting Deliora and it was all to accomplish one goal.

"You sacrificed everything just to seal away his darkness." he muttered. His lips slowly curled up into a smile. "I wonder who you'd feel if you knew that I was about to undo that."

* * *

"It started snowing," Ren stated when he came inside the tent, brushing white flakes off his jacket.

Gray opened one eye to look at the man then quickly closed it again as the action only made the spinning worse.

"Here," Ren throw a coat on top of the ice mage's face, "A woman came by wanting to return this to you."

He looked at the object, wondering if he had stripped it off unconsciously, then he realized that it had still been wrapped around the boy when the girl had taken it from him.

"Are you just going to stare at it or are you going to put it on. It's freezing, man."

Gray looked at him, then at the coat. For the sake of keeping up appearances, he sat up. A new wave of dizziness and nausea hit him. He waited until it had died down, then grabbed the coat and pulled it on.

"Is your head still bothering you?" Ren wondered.

"Yeah."

"This might help."

Gray looked up to see the man was offering him a half a loaf of bread. He stared at it in confusion.

"You better eat it and be grateful; it took a lot of effort to sneak this away."

"Marching all day must really put you in a good mood," He said, taking the offering, "This morning you threaten to kill me and now your giving me dinner?"

Ren sighed, "Yeah? Well, I misjudged you."

"How's that?"

"I'd thought you'd be a jerk like everyone else around here."  
Gray grinned. "Well, not everyone, around here's a complete jerk. You still seem to have some human decency left in you."

Ren's face fell at that. He shook his head slowly and muttered under his breath.

"I'm really not."

"Huh?" Gray stopped smiling at stared at the man in confusion.

"I'm a really terrible person." Ren almost whispered.

"Why—what makes you say that?" Gray asked, he wondered if maybe his memories had been altered into making him think that way about himself.

"That's what everyone tells me."

Gray only looked more confused.

Ren sighed heavily. "I used to serve in the king's army. One day while on a mission I got knocked on the back of the head by an enemy. When I woke up I could barely remember a thing about my life back home; I only knew about my life as a soldier. I was sent home after that in hopes that my memories would return, but when I got there everyone shunned me; telling me I had done these terrible things. I didn't know what else to believe."

Gray grinned.

"Why are you smiling like that? Does my story amuse you that much?" Ren growled.

"It's not that," he assured him, "It's just that getting amnesia might be the best thing that's happened to you."

"Huh?"

"It's not you that's messed up, it's everyone else's memories."  
"What?"

Gray then dove into an explanation of what had been happening to Isvan for the past several years.

"So you're telling me that everyone, everyone in this whole country has had their memories altered—and that that's what we're all about to kill each other for?"

He nodded. "I take it you don't believe me."

"No, I believe you actually." Ren stated, "It's more believable the thinking that everyone just decided to become jerks all of a sudden."

"I guess so." Gray laughed dryly.

"Can this be fixed?"

"What?"

"Can this be fixed somehow? Can we get everyone's memories back? I don't want to have to live the rest of my life separated from my family."

The ice mage fell silent then. He wondered how much he should tell this man.

"I don't know if there is a way to restore their memories." he said slowly, "but I'm doing everything I can to hunt down the cause of this."

"You're—what?" Ren furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I was asked to come here by the king to help him in fighting off the darkness that's engulfed Isvan." He explained, "I was on my way to meet him at the capital before I ended up here."

"Huh?"

Gray then delved into his story; telling Ren most of what he knew, leaving out the part about the kind's insanity and his own reluctance at first to help. The man listened without saying much but continued to look at him with intense focus.

"So the king really is doing something about this." Ren breathe when Gray had finished, "That's a relief. I had thought he had stopped caring about his people."

"Yes, although it is difficult for him since he's lost most of his support." the ice mage said, thinking not of the king, but of the prince.

"And you're a mage? What kind of magic do you use?"

"I use Ice magic."  
"Ha! I was wondering why you didn't get hypothermia for jumping into freezing water." Ren almost shouted with a grin.

"What? Oh, that can't be good." Gray exclaimed. He brought a hand up and slapped his own face as punishment for his stupidity. The action caused his head to feel like it was about to split open, making him moan out in pain.

"I hope no one noticed. Do you think anyone noticed?" he muttered once he was feeling a bit better.

Ren shrugged. "I wasn't paying that close attention."

"Well, it's too late now." he sighed, "Beside we have more important things to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Like what we're going to do now. Ideally, I would all ready be at the capital by now."

"But you got waylaid here?"

"Yep."

"So you need to escape."

"Well, first I'd like to at least find out where this army is headed and what their plan is."

"I don't know, but if I get any ideas I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Gray smiled, "My brains not been working too well lately, so you'll probably have better luck at it than I."

"I won't be either until I get some rest. I'm afraid the years I spent out of the king's service has made me go soft. I'll no doubt be stiff as a log tomorrow."

"Same here."

"Well, good night."

And with than Ren laid down and pulled a blanket over his head.

If Gray had not been so dead tired he would have found it difficult to sleep that night. The dizziness and unbearable pounding in his head continued even when he was lying down and it kept him up for almost half an hour before. But he finally managed to drift off just as the snow outside began to fall more thickly and the wind picked up.

* * *

They were both startled from their sleep by the blast of a horn.

"It's still night; why are they making us get up." Ren grumbled as he stood up. He went to the tent flap and opened it up. Immediately he was met with a blast of cold wind mixed with snow. He hurriedly closed the flap.

"Please tell me they're not expecting us to march in that."

"Probably." Gray said as he sat up. Thankfully the pain in his head had died down some, for the time being at least.

They both got ready, then stepped outside. As soon as they stepped into the open Gray was almost knocked over by the force of the wind.

People were already running about and taking down tents. They could hear the captain's voice yelling over the wind; telling the men to hurry.

"What's the rush?" Gray muttered.

"Seems he wants to get us to our destination before we're completely blocked off by snow." Ren explained, noting how the ground was already covered by a twelve inch layer of snow.

Just then Clamer came over to yell at them to get to work. They grudgingly set to work on the difficult task of taking a tent down in the raging wind without it blowing away. Once they were finally finished the rest of the army was already packed up.

"How do they finish so quickly?" Ren wondered.

Gray shrugged, "I guess, rebels are more organized they you realized."

With the camp packed up the captain wasted no time in getting everyone marching again. Gray and Ren were both given their heavy packs again and ordered to march behind Clamer.

"Well, it's time to put your brain to use." Gray said, straining his voice to be heard over the wind while still keeping it low enough so that no one else heard, "Where do you think we're going?"

"Well," Ren replied in contemplative thought, "From the direction we're heading I can narrow it down I think. Give me a minute while I try to remember what lies this way."

The ice mage waited while the man thought. It had been years since he had had a good look at a map of Isvan so he wouldn't be able to tell what was ahead. Except for the capital, of course.

"Could we be headed to the capital?"

Ren shook his head. "That place is too heavily protected. Unless Ulfick somehow managed to get half his army over there—no wait."

"What?"

Ren groaned. "The capital isn't that well protected right now."

"Why is that?"

"The king sent out his troops to protect the other cities that were being attacked. That must have been the man's plan. Distract the king by raiding his cities, then sneak his army in just before the heavy snow storms hit. Then he'll be blocked from bringing in reinforcements."

Gray's eyes widened, "You're sure that's it?"

"Of course I'm not sure. But it's my best guess and I can't think of any other cities we might be attacking."

"So that's it then? Now what do we do?"

"We need to somehow break away for this and go warn the king before the attack. At this pace the army should reach the capital in two days. One man on foot should be able to get there at least a day ahead of them, especially in this weather."

"What if he was on a horse?" Gray asked, indicating the steed Clamer was riding.

"That would be great, but how are we going to it?"

"I'm a mage remember." he grinned. "I'll knock Clamer off, then you jump on and ride off as fast as you can, I'll worry about everyone else."

"That doesn't sound like much of a plan."

"Just trust me."

"Fin but be better do this before the sun comes up. If anyone does manage to chase after me It'll be easier to lose them in the dark."

"I'm ready when you are."

"Are you sure you shouldn't be the one to warn the king?"

"I should stay here in case it case we end up heading somewhere else."

Ren snored, "I can take care of myself."

"Whatever, tell the king I'm on my way once you get there."

"Sure, I'll—wait. I never got your name did I?"

"Gray Fullbuster. Now get as close to Clamer's horse as you can then signal me when you're ready."

"This better work." he grumbled the ran ahead.

"Excuse me, sir," He said, trotting right up next to the man's horse.

"What it it?" He replied with a growl.

"I was wondering-" Ran waved a hand at Gray as he continued to talk.

The ice mage took his cue. He got up about five feet away from the back of the horse. Bending down, he summed his ice, making it snake across the ground, then shoot up and grab the man's foot, pulling him out of the saddle.

Ren quickly grabbed the horse's reins and pulled himself up onto its back. With a yell he sent the horse running.

Clamer soon recovered from his fall and started yelling. Three men on horseback who were nearby responded and took off after Ren. Gray casted another spell, freezing the horses hooves in place, causing the to topple. He was careful to keep his ice below the snow that covered the ground so that no one would notice.

The captain had now ridden over and was yelling at anyone near by to give chase. Gray stopped anyone who tried in the same fashion. Confusion broke out as everyone kept falling over for no apparent reason.

Ren was out of sight by now and soon everyone gave up on trying to catch him and instead focused on figuring out what had stopped them. The captain was busy going around and questioning everyone and was at the moment yelling at Clamer.

"What do you mean you were pulled off? By what exactly?"

"Like I would know! One minute I'm on the horse and the next I'm face down in the snow!"

The ice mage grinned to himself. Now all he needed to do was figure out how he was going to prevent a battle.


	9. Insanity

Chapter 9: Insanity

* * *

Up on a hill, overlooking the capital city, a figure stood, his brow etched into a scowl as he stared down at the populace.

"Our full force should be arriving soon, Lord Ulfrick" A man came up behind him and spoke.

"Good." The figure said without moving.

The man stood there, expectantly, waiting for further response. When he didn't revive any he looked over to see what the other was staring so intently at. It was a man, riding on a horse, trotting at a hurried pace towards the city.

"He's here to warn the king about our presence." Ulrick muttered.

"What? How do you know? He looks like any other traveler to me."

The man didn't answer, only turned and began walking back down the hill.

"Wait! Should I send some men to sneak into the city and stop him?"

"Don't bother. It won't change anything if the king knows or not." Ulfrick replied with a wave of his hand.

The other only blinked at him in confusion as he walked away.

* * *

"Thank you!" Ren breathed into the horse's ear, "You've exhausted yourself, but the journey is over and you can rest now.

The animal snorted in response and the man carefully slid off of its back. As soon as his feet hit the ground his knees buckled and he fell on all fours; his legs had fallen asleep after riding for so long. He cursed under his breath, then slowly stood up. Leaving his steed in the castle yard, he approached the gate.

"Halt! Who goes there? What is your business." one of the men guarding the gate yelled at him.

"My name is Ren Solfree, I used to serve in the king's army. I have an urgent message for his majesty." he replied.

"Ren?" The guard turned to one of his companions, "Do you know anyone by that name?"

"Seem familiar." The other replied, then turned to Ren, "How long have you been out of service?"

"Almost seven years now. Is Portnor still captain of the guard? He'll remember me."

"He is not."

"Please, you have to let me in!" Ren begged, "It's about the rebels. They have almost their full force coming to attack the city."

"What?" the two men stared at him in shock, "How do you know this?"

"I was captured by the rebels, but I managed to escape. A man named Gray Fullbuster was with me. The king should know him; He's the one that sent me here. If you won't let me in then at least tell his majesty this."

The guard nodded, "I'll see that the message is received. Stay here until then; if what you say is true, then we may want to question you further."

"I'll wait here." Ren sighed, then collapsed on the ground, completly exhausted.

* * *

"Have you found him yet?"

"No, Your Majesty. But I have my men looking everywhere."

The king grunted, then looked away from the captain of the guard and turned his attention back to his food. He dove into the last bit of meat, then washed it down with a glass of wine.

"This is much better than that slosh you people fed me in prison." He said, shooting a death glare at the half dozen people that sat around the table with him.

A few of the gulped and some hunched over in their seat.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, It was hardly a prison." someone dared to speak up, "Only a place for you to stay away from the public eye until you regained your sanity."

"I never lost my sanity, Grim!" The king roared, "It was all the rest of you that went mad!"

The table shook as the king pounded on it violently, sending dishes and bits of food clattering to the floor.

"It's either that or you were all brainwashed by that traitorous son of mine." Give gave them each another hard glare before his gaze rested on the captain, "Are you sure you haven't found anything yet?"

"Yes." The man replied, barely able to hold in his exasperation.

"Then double your efforts then. I want that boy dead."

The captain was about to say something in reply when a servant came in and tapped in one the shoulder, whispering something into the man's ear.

"Excuse me." he said, getting up and following the servant out of the room.

After that some, more servants came in to carry away empty plates. Once that was done the captain came back, his face sober.

"Your Majesty." he addressed the king.

"What is it?"

"I just received word from one of my men that a man has just arrived with some distressing news, it seems that the rebels are gathering around the city in preparation to attack."

The king raised an eyebrow, "A man you say? Was it one of our scouts?"

"No, he says he was formally one of your soldiers. He said that that is name was Ren Solfree."

"And you believe what this man says?"

"I don't know yet, but if what he says is true then the city is at a terrible risk. You can come and speak with him yourself and decide whether or not he is telling the truth."

The king state leisurely back in his chair and sighed.

"Send this man away. I don't have time for this."

"What? You would just ignore this? But this could very well be true. You know the city's defense is down at this moment. It would be just the change for the enemy to attack!" the captain said, raising his voice in anger.

"Do not yell at your king!" the man roared.

The captain hesitantly took a step back at this.

"But-"

"Enough! Get out of my sight."

The man stayed where he was.

"Leave!" the king yelled again. "Are you waiting for me to drive a sword through your heart? Get back to work."

"There was one other thing your majesty." the captain dared to continue to speak, "The man said that he was sent here by a Gray Fullbuster, he said that you would know him."

"I know of no such person. Now go!"

The man bowed, then hurried out. After he left, Grim also stood up and followed after him.

"Where is this man that said those things?" Grim asked when he had caught up with him.

"Waiting out by the front gate." the captain replied, "But what does this matter to you? Your only a scholar."

"I value my life just as much as the rest of us."

"It seems his majesty doesn't." the man growled, but Grim had already run off and didn't hear him.

* * *

Ren hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until he was being shaken awake.

"Get off of me!" he yelled, throwing a fist up to punch whoever was on top of him.

The was a cry of pain and the person stumbled back, clutching at his nose. Ren quickly stood to his feet.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"An old man who you just assaulted." the person growled.

He blinked a few times as the situation registered then he mumbled an apology and helped the man to his feet.

"Are you the one that was trying to warn the king?" the old man asked.

"That's me. Did he get the message?"

"Yes, but it won't do you any good going to him. I'll take you to who really needs to be told about this."

"What? What are you talking about?" Ren furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

The old man didn't say anything, only waved his hand, signaling him to follow and started off down the road.

He didn't budge.

"Come on!" the old man urged. "I promise you this isn't a tick, but I can't tell you any more until we're further away."

Ren debated the situation for a moment the decided to go along. He followed the old man nearly half way across the city, all the while they both kept silent. Finally, they stopped in front of an old beat up house. The man opened the door and motioned for Ren to come inside. The inside of house was just as beat up as the outside and it didn't look like anyone had lived there for years.

The man wordlessly went over to an old goat skin rug and lifted it up off the floor to reveal a trap door. He pulled it open and climbed inside. Ren hesitantly followed, alert and ready for whatever he might find down there.

It was dark and dusty. The only thing giving off light was a lamp that was burning atop a small table. A young boy sat by it, seated in a chair reading a stack of papers rather intently. His face was downcast and his features a mess. Dark circles surrounded his eyes.

"Hello, Grim." he said without looking up.

"I brought someone with me, Your Majesty. And he brings good news." the old man said.

The boy looked up, finally noticing Ren.

"Who are you?" he asked, putting the papers down and standing up.

"My name is Ren Solfree. What is going on? Who are you people?"

He wasn't scared; after all it was just an old man and a young boy, but he was thoroughly confused.

The boy looked over at Grim, questioningly.

"Go ahead and tell him." The old man said with a nod.

The boy sighed, "My name is Erander prince of Isvan."

"Eh?"

Ren hadn't been this shocked since he had woken up in the rebel army.

"What is the prince doing in the basement of some run down house?"

"Hiding from my father." Erander said with a sigh, "The man wants me dead."

He shook his head. "You're going to have to explain everything from the beginning because I'm not understanding any of this."

"Yes of course," Grin said, "Sit down and I'll tell you everything."

He obligingly sat down.

"You must be hungry. I'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you, I haven't eaten for days it feels like"

After some food had been set in front of him the old man began his explanation, telling him how the king had gone insane from the from the evil that had enraptured Isvan and had to be locked away. After that he had somehow managed to convince the court that he had regained his senses.

"Either that or they too went mad." the prince muttered.

"After what happened, he blamed everything on his son, naming him a traitor and setting out to kill him."

"I barely escaped with my life. Grim was kind enough to hide me here. That was almost two weeks ago."

"You're kidding me." Ren breathed.

"You still don't believe us?" Grim questioned.

"No, I do." he said, "Gray told me how the dark magic could affect people."

"Gray!" Erander exclaimed, standing bolt upright, "Gray Fullbuster?"

"Yes!" Grim said with a grin. "Gray is back. I told you this man had good news for you."

The prince let out a heavy sigh and sat back down. "So he did come." he whispered as relief washed over him.

"Um..." Ren looked back and forth between the two of them, hoping for answers. It was the prince who answered.

"I sent for Gray to come here from the West, and asked him to help us fight against this evil. When I did so I told him he would have to do something incredibly difficult for him. He said that he could never do that and left. I guess he changed his mind at some point and came to help."

"I see." Ren said quietly, wondering what the prince had asked of Gray.

"Where is he now?" Erander asked.

"Still with the rebel army."

"What?" The prince stood up again a look of horror on his face.

Ren immediately through his hands up. "No! It's not what you think. He's there to get information on where they're headed. He hasn't joined them."

"Oh," the prince fell back into his seat, "Did he find out where they were headed?"

"They're coming here."

"What?"

* * *

Ren then gave the prince his full story. How he had met Gray, how they had figured out the rebel's plan and how he had helped him escape and how he had come here to warn the king.

"So that's what's going on." he finished.

The prince sighed, "I can't say I didn't see this coming. It did see like they were trying to draw are forces away by attacking helpless cities."

"What can we do to stop this?" Grim asked.

"We need to raise the city's defense and send out messages for reinforcements. But the king didn't believe you, right? And I don't have the power to do anything anymore."

They fell silent a sense of hopelessness creeping into their hearts.

"Maybe," Ren licked his dry lips and continued, "Maybe Gray will think of something."


	10. Keeping it Together

Chapter Ten: Keeping it Together

* * *

He was numb. So numb that he didn't even feel like himself anymore; it felt like it was someone else's body that was marching threw the snow. Between his hunger, lack of sleep and throbbing head, he would never have been able to keep up if it wasn't for his magic. He was now almost unconsciously using it to melt it away to make it easier for his feet to pass through. He didn't even care now if anyone noticed. Not that he thought they would; everyone else looked just as dead tired as he did.

He was so disconnected from reality that he didn't even notice that the company had halted until he stumbled into the person in front of him. The man gave him a rough shove, then moved away to join the rest of the soldiers as they set up camp. Gray fell into the soft snow a just lay there, letting it fall over his body like a blanket. It felt so good that he wouldn't of minded just falling to sleep right there.

And it seems that he did indeed fall asleep, although he didn't realize it until he felt a boot dig into his side as someone tripped over him. That someone began yelling curses above him and he was violently yanked up from the ground and set on his feet.

Gray managed to stay standing. He stared blankly at the person in front of him, his mind not registering who it was. The only conscious thought he could form was that he wished he would stop yelling right in his face.

He nodded his head, hoping that would satisfy the man and make him go away. That seemed to work; after yelling one last insult in his face the man turned and walked away, leaving Gray to figure out what was going on and what he should do.

As he stood there, his mind slowly began to clear and the pain decreased. It was like this the whole trip, one moment it he would feel just a bit dizzy and then the next he would be in complete agony. However the pain never went completely away. Now it was only a dull throb, giving him the opportunity to think about his situation.

Before he had the change to do so, however, the captain's gruff voice rang out above the noise of the camp. Everyone fell silent and quickly gathered around to hear what he had to say.

"After sunset we will head out and join the main force. Until then, rest, eat, and prepare yourselves for battle."

Gray sucked in a breath. So they were already there? He looked up at the sun and guessed that they only had about three hours till sunset. Three hours to figure out a plan.

He was knocked out of his thoughts, when something heard was thrown at his chest. He doubled over and looked down to see what was throw at him. It was a metal helmet, bearing the colors of the rebel army.

"You're not going to last very long on the battlefield if your reflexes like that."

He looked up to see Clamer causally walking over to him. He carried a sword in his left hand, which he offered to Gray.

"The helmet and this was all I could find for you. You did say you could fight didn't you?"

Gray nodded and took the weapon. After looking It over he strapped it to his belt. He bent down and picked up the helmet, and was about to walk away when he noticed that Clamer was staring off into the distance with an odd look on his face.

"Just a few more hours." he muttered.

Gray looked into the man's eyes and there he saw something that he could only describe as blood lust. The ice mage grimaced at the sight, then turned away.

As he walked threw the camp, he noticed that many of the soldiers had the same demeanor. None of them seemed scared or uneasy. Instead, they all seemed eager for the battle to begin. Eager to begin killing.

"The darkness really has buried itself deep." he murmured as he turned away from the camp.

They were so engrossed in their own bloody thought that no one even noticed when he left.

* * *

After breaking away from the camp, he had to climb a tall pine tree in order to be able to see the capital city. There at the top with the pointy needles poking into his back, he could see the city, now coated in several feet of snow.

Gray frowned at the sight. Other than the city wall, there were no visible means of defense. If Ren had managed to get the message to the Prince then he would have expected him to raise the city's defense against the attack. Unless the prince had somehow come up with a better plan, then that was what Gray had assumed he would do.

"Something must have gone wrong." he muttered to himself.

Since there was nothing left for him to see he made his way back down the tree. As soon as his foot hit the ground a shudder ran through the earth. It was just the same as it had been in the passage way only this time there could be no doubt. It wasn't strong enough knock him off balance and it lasted only a few seconds, but in that one moment Gray was shaken to the core.

He fell to his knees, staring down at the ground in horror, his heart racing.

There was something. A demon? He didn't know what, but what he did know was that there was something hidden, underneath the earth. Its power was deferentially demonic, but also different then anything he had encountered before.

He waited until his heartbeat had evened out then tried to stand up. As soon as he had put his weight back onto his feet the pain and dizziness returned. He collapsed on the ground, moaning and digging his fingers into his hair. It felt like someone was pounding inside his head the way they would if they wanted to break down a door.

"Not now." He pleaded, "Not now, I need to get up, I need to save the city."

But the pain continued.

* * *

"_You__'__r__e__ not getting detracted just before our planes reach __their__ completion are you, human?_"

The dark mage jerked his head up as the voice dug itself into his mind again. It had become incredibly chatty in the past few days.

"Is there something that has you worried." he seared.

"_Remember who you__'__r__e__ speaking to._" the voice growled, "_If I am worried it is only that your pesky emotions are going to muddle things up and I'll have to wait another __millennium__ before I can __taste__ the outside again._"

The man rolled his eyes as the voice continued to ramble on.

"_I do not see why you don't __just__ do away with the ice mage right now when he is already so close._"

"He is nothing to worry about."

"_You know he plans on stopping this battle, and yet you continue on as if he wasn't there._"

"I'm not going to kill him yet, but if it makes you happy then I'll change his memories around so he doesn't remember his mission."

"_That's something you should have done from the start._" the voice said before fading away.

The dark mage sighed and set about the task of rearranging the ice mage's memories.

* * *

He had lost all sense of time as he was engulfed in a world of pain. He could vaguely sense that the light was fading as the sun sank towards the horizon, but that was all. He knew that he needed to get up, needed to do something, something important.

Slowly he stood to his feet, using the tree next to him for support. As he did, it seemed that the pain was lessening. He blinked several times and looked around. It was dark. In the back of his mind, he knew that this meant something, but the answer wouldn't come to him.

As he thought about it, it slowly faded from his mind until he couldn't even remember what he was trying to remember.

Trying to make sense of it all he began exploring his surroundings. He picked a direction and began walking in it. As he walked he, started to hear noises, men yelling and shouting, a loud cracking and the sound of something breaking apart.

His heartbeat quickened and he broke into a run, eager to see what was going on. As he broke through the grove of trees he came upon a massive sight and suddenly the confusion he felt before tripled.

The first thing he saw was the capital city and he barely recognized it at first, the wall that surrounded and protected was now falling apart, giant gaps were carved into it and it looked to be on the verge of collapse.

Moving his gaze, he saw the giant army that surrounded the city. Thousands of soldiers stood in formation ready to charge in as soon as the way was made clear. All of them were yelling and shouting in anticipation.

An uneasy feeling crept into Gray's stomach; he felt like he knew he should have expected this but he didn't know why.

Another loud crack reverberated through the air, like splintering wood. Gray flinched as a massive rock was flung at the wall, ramming threw it and creating another crater at the top. He looked again at the army and saw that they had set up over a hundred catapults, built specifically for the destruction of the city.

The ice mage took a step back from the horrifying scene. He clutched his head as it started to throb again as he was torn apart by this new dilemma; should he run down there and attack the attackers? Should he defend the city? Or should he just turn and run away.

He looked back down at the bloodthirsty army. He knew one thing for sure; as soon as that wall fell everyone in that was doomed to be killed. He looked over at the wall; another round of catapult fire and it would collapse.

He could afford to think anymore, he had to act.

Without a moment of hesitation, he sprinted forward, straight in the direction of the rebel army. Before the men had a change to react, he pushed them aside, eyes set on the wall, aiming for the section that had been broken down the most.

He heard shouting behind him as he shoved the soldiers aside, breaking through the ranks. He felt a brush of wind as an arrow whizzed passed his face. He flinched but kept going.

Finally, he reached the wall. Grabbing hold of the rock he started to climb. Using his magic to make himself a foothold whenever he couldn't find any he made his way to the top in less than a minute. He slung himself over to the other side and jumped onto the street below, the impact stinging his feet.

Spinning to face the wall, he threw his fist in his open palm. After calling upon his magic he placed both hands on the rock. A thick layer of ice immediately shot up, filling in the empty space and making the structure whole again.

Just as the spell was complete he heard another crack and the rock about ten yards away fell to the ground, creating a gap about fifteen feet wide. The ice mage sprinted to the location. As soon as he skidded to a stop in front of the destruction he already had a spell ready. Half a minute and the gap was filled in with ice.

Before he even had a chance to catch his breath the wall again collapsed a few yards away. Just as he was about to run over to it another portion of rock was torn threw, this time back next to where he had repaired the first one.

"I'm not fast enough," He growled, "The only way is to fix this whole thing at once."

He then stopped where he was, putting a hand out to support himself against the wall.

"But I don't have that kind of power." he said, hanging his head in defeat.

He stared down helplessly at the scattered bits of fallen rock and piles of snow. His mind was straining to come up with a solution. He only had a few minutes at best.

Then it hit him, at the same time a giant missile broke down the part of the wall he was leaning against. Immediately he was thrown to the ground as the rock rained down upon him. On instinct he made himself a shield of ice but that was quickly shattered by the heavier bits, leaving his body to be bruised by the falling derbies.

After the rocks had stopped falling, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, forcing the rubble off his body. As he stood his ears were suddenly assaulted by a deafening battle cry. He looked to see that about thirty yards of the wall was now lying in pieces, giving him a clear view to see the rebel army charging straight at him.

Gray immediately fell to his knees. Drawing in a breath, he dug his hands into the snow and closed his eyes. The battle cry and the pain of his aching body slowly faded as he concentrated on the coldness that surrounded him.

Sure he, didn't have enough power within himself to cast such a massive spell, but wasn't he in Isvan, the country surrounded in ice?

Drawling upon his ice devil slayer magic he took hold of the ice that surrounded him, reaching out as far as he could and gathering it all to himself. Once that was done, he proceed to change its shape, forming it into a wall that couldn't be broken by normal means. He could feel his own magic being stretched to the limit as he struggled to control this massive amount of energy. He could feel his body begin to shake with the effort of it all, but he continued to hold on until the spell reached its completion.

Just when he thought he would run out of magic power the task was finished. Completely drained, he let his body fall back, leaning against the ice he had just created, and letting his mind fall into unconscious rest.


	11. The Old Plan Doesn't Work Anymore

Chapter Eleven: The Old Plan Doesn't Work Anymore

* * *

"_You bl__i__thering human_" the voice seethed inside his head.

The dark mage groaned.

"_I thought you said that you would erase the ice mage's mission from his head._"

"I did."

"_Then why have you not invaded the city yet? Don't tell the giant glacier around the city just appeared naturally._"

"It seems that he decided to protect the city despite not understanding the situation."

"_Which is why you should have just killed him to begin with_."

The man sighed.

"_But you have no excuse not to now. I want this ice taken down as soon as possible._"

"Killing him isn't going to work. That's not how ice magic works."

"_Then take over his mind and make him do it himself. I don't care how it gets done as long as its in the quickest way possible._"

He mumbled his agreement and the voice left him.

* * *

"Gray!" Ren yelled at the top of his lungs and he ran down the city streets.

The sun was just starting to come up, he hoped that with more light, he would be able to find his friend more quickly.

"Gray! Where are you!" he yelled again.

He tried thinking of where the mage could have gone. Grim was already waiting at the king's castle in case he showed up there, but they couldn't say that for sure.

He looked up again at the towering wall he assumed the boy had built. Having seen only a little bit of magic in his life, he found the feat even more unbelievable. He was even more eager to find him so he could ask how he had done it.

"Come on!" he wailed, "I know the city's big but here aren't that many places to hide."

As it grew brighter people began coming out of their homes. Ren stared pulling some of them aside, describing Gray to them and asking if they had seen him. They all glared at him, shook their heads and walked off.

"These folks sure know how to make a fellow feel welcome." he grumbled.

He then noticed that most of the people were headed in the same direction. It seemed that they were all off to get a closer look at what had sprung up in the middle of the night. Ren began following the crowd as they began to form in huddles a safe distance away from the ice.

He began walking up to each group of people and asking them the same question. They all dismissed him with the same response. It seemed that either no one had seen Gray or no one was interested in helping him out.

"Bunch of ingrates," he muttered under his breath, "The kid saved your lives and you won't even help me look for him."

Looking up, he saw that the next group of people were muttering to themselves and pointing at something at the base of the wall. He turned his head to see what the fuss was about and noticed a body that was leaning up against the ice. He quickly got closer and soon recognized who it was. In the blink of an eye he was at the boy's side and shaking him.

"Gray, wake up!" he yelled, "It's me, Ren."

The mage's eyes fluttered open and he turned to look at the man above him.

"Ren?" he asked, choking on the word.

"Yes, are you alright?"

Gray blinked a few times then tried to sit up, the task proved too difficult for him and he collapsed back to the ground.

"Apparently not." the man said with a huff, "Come on, I'll carry you."

He pulled him onto his back and began walking.

* * *

Just before they were about to begin the attack on the capital city the entire army was suddenly put to a halt. The whole reason being an enormous wall of ice that protected the entire city. It was truly a spectacle to behold as all the snow and ice that covered the ground, seemingly melted away, then a sheet of ice shot out of the ground, covering up the wall that had been there. Now there stood a wall, twice as high and at least three times as thick.

After spending most of the night attempting futilely to break through the ice, the men were sent back to their camps to rest. It was decided that a meeting should be held in order to discuss the current dilemma.

"Captain!"

"What? Clamor? What are you doing. You should be with the men!" The captain yelled at the man that was running up to him.

"I need to tell you something."

"Not now, I'm headed to the war counsil."

"I know, and it's something both you and they would like to know." Clamor gasped out as he tried to catch his breath.

The captain let out an exasperated sigh, but decided to give the other the benefit of a doubt.

"I'm listening."

* * *

"I found him!" Ren called as he jumped down into the prince's hideaway.

Erander immediately stood up and rushed over to them. He pulled Gray off of the man's back and set him gently on the ground.

"He seems to have worn himself out." Ren explained.

"I see. We should let him rest then."

"Should I go tell Grim that he's been found."

"Yes, thank you."

The man nodded, then pulled himself up through he trap door, careful to close and conceal the opening before leaving.

The young prince looked down at the sleeping boy and smiled at him softly before sitting down next to him and began to wait for the others to get back.

A total of forty-seven minutes passed before the ice mage began to stir, grunting slightly as he was pulled back into consciousness.

"It's all right, Gray, you can go back to sleep." The prince said, putting a hand on the other's shoulder.

The ice mage jerked away at the contact and he immediately shot up, whirling his head around to face him.

"Who are-" he started to say then stopped when he recognized the person in front of him.

"You!" He growled, leaping to his feet and stepping a safe distance away from the prince. He shoved his fist into his palm, ready to cast whatever spell he might need.

"Gray, what are you doing? It's me." Erander said. He stood up, wide eyes fixed with horror on the ice mage as he glared at him with distrust.

"How did I get here?" Gray demanded.

"Ren found you and brought you here."

"Ren?" His eyebrow twitched at the name and he cringed and clutched his head.

"Are you in pain? What happened?" Erander cautiously took a step forward.

"Stay back." Gray warned, bringing his hands back into the ice-make position.

"Gray, I'm your friend, I'm not going to hurt-"

"No you're not. You- you-"

The ice mage shut his eyes tightly and started to fall forward but managed to put a foot out and steady himself.

"You took me away from my home." he finished, opening his eyes to glare at the prince.

"What? No, I didn't." Realization suddenly hit the boy. "Gray, it's your memories, they must have been switched around. I swear, I didn't force you to do anything. You came back here to help me, to help free Isvan from the dark magic."

The ice mage's expression changed from anger, to confusion. He stared at the boy for a few seconds before he grabbed his head, his face contorted, and fell to his knees.

"Gray." he breathed.

He slowly walked over to him until he was only a few feet away.

"Do you-" he gulped, then continued, "Do you believe me."

Gray shook his head, "I don't know, nothing makes sense," he pulled at his hair in frustration, "Everything's a jumbled mess."

The boy was about to reach a hand out to comfort him when the trapped door was suddenly pulled open.

"Were back!" Grim called as he lowered himself down.

"We would have been back sooner if the old man insisted on rummaging through his library all morning." Ren complained.

"I told you it was important." the old man defended himself.

They both stopped chattering when they saw the other two looking at them.

"Gray, you're awake!" Ren said with a smile. It quickly faded as he took him the distraught look on the other's face.

"Oi! What's the matter?"

"The black magic got inside his head and messed up his memories." The prince explained.

"What?" the man ran over to the ice mag's side." Gray, you remember me, don't you?"

He nodded, "I remember meeting, and then I helped you escape. I-I don't remember why."

"That's all right." Grim said with a kind smile, "Why don't you sit down and rest and we'll explain everything to you."

Gray nodded uneasily and did as he was told.

"Why don't you start, Your Majesty."

Erander nodded and began to explain everything to him, the same way he had done when they first met.

* * *

"You see now? That's why I asked you to come. And I'm very grateful that you came back."

Gray furrowed his brow in confusion. "I-I don't understand why I didn't agree to help you to begin with though."

Erander bit his bottom lip as he considered how to answer this without saying anything that might trigger the memories that he knew the other wanted to keep safe.

"There was something that you loved that you desperately didn't want to leave, which you would have to if you were to be of any help to us. So, you said no to me and went back home. After that something must have changed your mind. I assume you must have hidden your memories of _that,_ away and created false ones to replace it before coming back, like I said you would need to or they would be corrupted. Just like the ones you had of me were"

"I see." Gray lowered his head and stared at the floor.

He waited a few moments before asking him another question.

"Gray, can you tell us what happened when you came back. Ren told us what happened after you were forced to join the rebel army, but what happened before that."

The ice mage nodded, "I can tell you. I don't think those memories were touched."

So he told them; how he had come in through the dark mage's tunnels, how he had collapsed it, and his fight with the dark mage.

"Wait!" Grim put a hand up to stop him, mid telling.

"What?"

"You said that this man man knew you teacher, Ur?"

"From what he said, that's the only conclusion I can draw. Why? Do you know anything else about this?"

"First tell us what happened next."

Gray eyed the old man suspiciously, but continued anyway.

"For some reason the face that I was once Ur's disciple upset him. He cast—some kind of spell on me, I think. It made me black out, and since then I've been having terrible head aches and I feel dizzy all the time."

"What?" Grim gasped.

They all looked at the old man in confusion.

"No, are you sure?" he asked, staring at Gray in horror.

"Yes, I'm sure. What do you know old man!" The ice mage growled. "Tell me!"

Grim sighed and let his head fall into his hands. "I am truly sorry, Gray. It seems we've brought you here only to have you be caught up in the same darkness we're in."

"Stop beating around the issue and just tell me."

The old man raised his head and looked into Gray's eyes. "If the man you fought is who I think he is then-" he stopped, unable to finish, and looked away. "His name is Casey, at least that was what he used to be called. Back when he was Ur's husband."

Gray's eyes widened slightly as he took in this new information.

Grim continued. "If it truly was him, then the spell he cast on you was a kind of link that connected your mind with his. Now he has complete access to your memories at any time, even new ones that were created after the spell was cast."

The ice mage let out a shaky breath. He closed his eyes as he tried to process what he had just been told.

"You seem to know a lot about this guy." Ren said, looking over at Gray in concern. "If you know so much then you must know how to get rid of the spell."

"If I knew how to counter memory spells, then we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place." The old man snapped.

"Gray, are you all right?" Erander asked. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt a shudder run through the older boy's body at the contact.

"So you're saying he had complete control over all my memories?" he asked, wanting confirmation.

"All except for the ones you've kept. Though he's most likely doing all he can to rip them away from you. That's why your head hurts and you feel dizzy all the time." Grim explained.

"How do you know all this?"

"I—" he sighed, "I knew Ur. We weren't really close enough to be called friends, but because of my constant research on magic I came across her on several different occasions. It wasn't until she came to me asking for help that I really got to know her. She wanted me to help her develop a spell that could save her husband."

The old man stopped then, shaking his head at the memory.

"He was a memory mage and a very skillful one, but something went wrong with him. Either delved too far into his own magic or some madness overtook him. He started to use his powers on himself, twisting his own memories and turning them into nightmarish creations. Ur didn't have enough knowledge of memory magic to be able to deal with this herself so she came to me. It took us months, but he finally came up with a spell that should have worked.

"But when she came home her husband turned on her. In his madness he tried to kill her. She tried using the spell, but for some reason it didn't work. When it failed all she could do was fight him off. After that he left her. She wanted to go after him and try again, but soon after that she had her daughter, so she gave up on that pursuit, not wanting to bring a mad man back into her home and risk having her child but at risk."

The old man finished his tale, then sat back with a sigh. They all sat in silence. Taking in what had been told. The prince was the first on to speak.

"You suspected this all along." he said quietly.

"What?"

"You suspected that Casey was the one behind all this from the start." The prince looked at him sternly, "That's why you suggested I ask Gray for help."

Gray blinked and looked from Erander to Grim.

"Is that right?"

The old man sighed. "I thought perhaps, that you could find Casey and use the spell thet Ur and I made. But that's only if you could get the spell to work, and if Casey really was behind everything. And that all is true, there's still no guarantee that it'll help return things to the way they were."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Erander asked.

"I did."

"Oh," the boy's face fell as he spoke and he sifted his gaze down to the ground.

"Do you still have the spell?" Gray asked.

"Yes, that was what I was looking for that Ren here deemed 'unimportant'."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know what it was?" Ren yelled in his defense.

"Can I see it?"

Grim shook his head sadly. "It won't work; not when your mind is connected to Casey's; He'll see it though your memories and know what's coming."

"But we need to try something. If it's useless if I read it, then it's just as useless if I don't. There's no harm in letting me look unless we can somehow find another mage that's on our side and can learn the thing."

"All right." The old man said in defeat and handed the book to him.

"If the spell's not going to work, then what's the plan?" Ren asked.

"I don't know, but we have a while to think of something. Thanks to Gray's wall the rebels won't be able to get in, right." Grim turned to look at Gray.

The ice mage nodded. "That wall shouldn't come down unless I will it to."

* * *

"So it was an ice mage that did this?"

"And you think that he was part of your unit?"

All the high ranking officers of the rebel army were now seated on the ground inside their leader's tent. Their attention now directed towards Clamor as he told them his theory.

"Yes, he's a young man with black hair, he looked to be about eighteen or twenty." Clamor explained.

"Didn't some of our men see someone like that run towards the wall right before the ice went up?" someone asked.

"Yesm I saw it myself."

"You see then, that must have been him." Clamor said excitedly.

"Now hold on, how can you be sure that this guy was an ice mage?"

"Because he didn't get hypothermia after jumping into a frozen river." He said in exasperation. "I explained this already. The guy didn't even shiver and walked around half naked for the rest of the day. I'd say that's a good indication at least."

"I believe Clamor's theory to be true," The captain spoke up, "There was definitely something odd about that person."

"Well, it's a better explanation than anyone else has come up with. What do you think, Ulfrick."

They all turned to look at their leader who was currently sitting leisurely with his back propped up against the canvas of the tent. He had currently been listening to them discuss with little interest. Now he looked at them all and grinned slightly.

"I think that the only thing to do now is going into the city and find the supposed ice mage."

"But how are we going to get into the city?" The captain asked, "Everything we've tried doesn't even leave a dent on the ice."

"I know another way in. I'll need a party of say, five. Just a few of our best men will do. Once we find him it'll be easy enough to force him to take down the wall. Once that happens, I'm sure the rest of you can figure out what to do next."

"Five men?"

"Something wrong with that?"

"It's just—this guy made an entire city wall in just a few minutes. It just seems that we're going to need more than that to take him down."

Ulrick's grin widened. "Don't worry, I have a hunch that boy's going to be too tired after all that wall building to put up much of a fight."


	12. A Desperate Fight

Chapter Twelve: A Desperate Fight

* * *

Gray ran his hands across the pages of the leather bound book. The pain in his head had lessened some and he had taken the opportunity to concentrate fully on the spell that was written there.

After Grim had explained concept of it to him, he found it fairly easy to understand, it was based on his teachers Ice-Make magic after all so most of the principles were the same. Although he understood most of it and he was pretty sure that he could learn how to cast it, he didn't see the flaw that was somewhere in the spell, the one that kept it from working when Ur first used it.

He felt a presence at his side and looked over to see that he prince had come over to sit next to him. The younger boy held a sheet of paper in his head and was staring at it intently. He looked up when he felt Gray's gaze upon him and turned to face the ice mage.

"Do you think that the spell will work?" he asked, his voice quiet.

Gray looked back down at the book in his hand. "It didn't work before, so I doubt it will work now until we find out what the problem was and fix it."

There was a moment of silence before Erander spoke up again.

"I'm sorry."

Gray's head jerked up in surprise. "What was that?" he voice was so quite, he could barely hear him.

"I'm sorry I asked you to come here. It seems I've been expecting the impossible from you."

Gray let out a small laugh, "Well, it seems a little more possible now with this." he gestured at the book "Before I had no idea of how I was going to help."

The younger boy looked at him in surprise before shaking his head. "Still, I can't expect you to do anymore. Your practically a step away from having your memories messed up. You should go back home while they're still intact."

The ice mage looked at the prince in concern.

"You don't really want me to leave, do you?"

The prince flinched at the question. "I don't," he admitted, "Having you here makes me feel hope, even if we have no plan of how to move forward. But, I can't ask you to stay, knowing what will most likely happen to you."

Gray froze for a moment, then he gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Well, I don't want to leave either, so you don't need to worry. I'm going to keep fighting till the end."

Erander shut his eyes at this and looked away.

"I-I'm not sure you would say that if you knew." he said softly.

"Knew what?" the ice mage asked, hesitantly.

"How terrifying it is to have your memories being messed up. I mean, you've had a little taste of it, but-"

Gray reached a hand out to reassure the boy, then froze when he saw that he was trembling slightly.

"You're-" his eyes widened with realization, "Your memories have been corrupted haven't they?"

He nodded slowlym then opened his mouth, his voice grew more intense as he spoke. "It happened not long after you left. Thankfully, Grim had made me write down all of my important memories prior, but-. It-it's just sickening. I don't want to have to think anymore. I don't want to have to look at these terrible things that have been put in my head. I just sit here day after day, reading what I wrote and trying to convince myself that they're not real." he turned and looked Gray in the eye as he said the last words, "I don't that to happen to you Gray."

He looked away then and they both stared down at the ground in silence. He thought about it for a long moment, then looked up at Erander.

"I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and finish this. I know it seems hopeless, but there's got to be a way to fight off this magic." he lifted up the book and stared at it intently, "We'll find some loophole, some weakness we haven't thought of yet. Nothing's impossible."

The prince looked up at him and forced a smile.

"If you truly wish to stay, then here." he said and handed him the piece of paper in his hand.

"What's this?" he asked, taking it.

"I wrote down your mission in case you even ended up forgetting it again."

Gray nodded, "A good idea. Thank you." he said and stuffed the paper in his pocket.

Just then there was a loud thumping from above and Erander immediately tensed. They waited for a few seconds before the trap door was opened and Ren jumped down.

"Oh, it's just you." the prince said, breathing a sigh of relief, "I thought you might have been one of the king's soldiers for a moment there. Your footsteps are a lot louder than Grim's."

"Sorry I scared ya." the man said with a laugh, "Grim'll be back soon. He's taking care of something at the castle. In the meantime, I brought you guys dinner." he held up a large basket then set it on the ground.

They all gathered around and proceeded to pull out assorted foods and dig in.

Before long, evening turned into night, and they all lay down for some much needed rest.

* * *

The captain was regretting agreeing on coming along on the infiltration mission into the city. Sure he, would be useful to have along since he knew what the supposed ice mage looked like, and he did relish in the thought of having the change to beat the daylights out of that arrogant boy, but right now he was doubting whether or not it would be worth it.

On top of his current company being a pain, with Ulfrick taking the lead and four of their most skilled, yet irritating warriors, they were in one of the most disturbing places he'd ever been. He'd gladly take a snowstorm over this any day.

"My lord, how did you even find out about this place." he asked, trying to hide how irritated he was.

Their leader turned and such a sudden and hard glare that he literally bit his tongue.

"Did I not tell you to keep quiet!" he hissed, "There could still be dark mages about."

That effectively shut him up and they all proceeded with as much caution and as little noise as possible.

After thinking about it for a moment he supposed it was only natural for someone to do copious amounts of research on the city he was planning to invade. Thought, he still would like to know how Ulfrick managed to find out that the center of the dark mage's magic operations was right underneath the capital city; a fact not even the king himself seemed to be aware of. He even knew where the hidden entrance was, how to get in, and when the place would be the least occupied.

Although very useful for this mission there was no way they were going to bring the whole army in through here. That would only temper the mages, and there wasn't a man among them that knew how effectively fight against magic.

The Captain cringed when they passed by a line of corpses, their hands still changed to the wall and their bodies cut in various odd places. Even though it was dark, he could still see the various unearthly leftovers that were the aftermath of black magical experiments. Mangled corpses of both humans and animals, vaults of putrid smelling liquids, walls covered in runes written in blood; even if the closed his eyes to these things the place still seemed to seep into him and chill him to the bone. He wondered just how long they would have to stay down here.

They continued traveling through various passageways and rooms, all the while Ulfrick acted like he knew exactly where he was going. Finally the man stopped in front of a bare wall.

"This is it." he said and stepped through.

The Captain blinked, but wasn't too surprised, after all, that was how they got into this place. He sucked in his breath and followed.

* * *

Erander was the first to hear the footsteps as they reverberated above them. He immediately sat bolt upright off the ground and turned to shake Gray awake.

"Gray, get up." he whispered fervently.

As soon as the ice mage's eyes were opened, he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

"What-" he started to say then froze when he heard the approaching footsteps and muffled voices.

"What's going on?" Ren asked, drowsily as he sat up and looked at the two of them with half lidded eyes.

"It has to be the king's men." the prince whispered, "They must have found me somehow."

They all flinched as they heard the trap door being forced open. Gray immediately leapt forward. He raised his hands above his head, placing the palms upon the door and froze it shut.

"That should hold them." he said.

There was a string of curses from above followed by someone pounding mercilessly upon the door.

"Is there another way out of here?" Ren asked.

The prince shook his head.

"Will just have to fight 'em then."

Gray immediately set to work trying to come up with a strategy. Before he could think of anything, however, a flash of metal appeared in front of his face as a sword was shoved through the floorboards. The weapon was then bent to the side as the man above tried to pry the boards apart.

"You need to freeze the whole room!" Ren exclaimed.

He was already on it before the words were even said, but before he could bring the spell into fruition a jolt of pain coursed through his head like a gun shot. He collapsed on his hands and knees, his mouth open in a silent scream. Erander rushed over to him and pulled him out of the way as a board was about to fall on top of him.

"Gray," he pleaded, shaking him, "Snap out of it, you have to fight."

Wasting no time, Ren produced his weapon and jumped in front of them, just as as another board fell. Now there was a hole large enough for a man to fall through. And it wasn't long before one did, but he was ready. Before the intruder's feet even hit the ground, he thrust his sword forward, stabbing him in the side. He fell to the ground with a scream. In a second another attacker leapt down, eyes ablaze with rage, gripping a machete in both hands.

"I could use some back up right now, Gray!" Ren yelled, as he was viciously attacked by an onslaught of strikes from the two blades.

A second later and Ren was outnumbered as two more men joined them, both waring equal fierce expressions.

Erander watched helplessly as Ren tried desperately to fend off their attackers. He could see now that these weren't the king's men, but rebel soldiers, and top-notch fighters at that. He wished he could help fight, but his skill level was no where near that of these men; he doubted he'd be able to last five seconds. Instead, he focused on trying to get Gray to come back to them. He shook the boy's body again, pleading him to snap out of it.

The ice mage had his mouth slightly agape. His eyes were opened wide, but he was not contentious of anything around him. He was locked in a world of pain, completely unreachable.

Ren managed to slash on of the men across the arm, only to be stabbed in the thigh, then kicked in the gut, knocking him backwards and slamming his head against the wall. He staggered to his feet only to have his weapon ripped from his hand, then grabbed by the collar and hoisted into the air.

"Are you the ice mage?" the man holding him demanded.

He didn't answer, his mind was still foggy with pain and the collision with the wall. Erander was about to stand up to try and do something when he felt cold metal press against his neck.

"Don't move, boy." he looked to see a man standing above him with a sword to his throat and instantly froze.

"Hey, captain, get down here and tell us which one is the ice mage so we can kill the rest!" the man yelled.

The prince's breath caught in his throat at those words. He dared to look over at Gray and pleaded in his mind for him to do something. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the ice mage shift slightly, his head turning up to look at him.

Gray blinked then, opened his mouth to utter one word.

"Run."

000

In an instant all thoughts vanished from his head and were replaced with pain. So much pain that it seemed all singles to his brain were cut off. He could no longer feel his own body, only the torturous pain, that filled every corner of his head. At first it was like a needle, sharp and piercing, after which it evolved into a vibrant pounding.

At that point he could actually think, think how much he wanted the pain to stop. It seemed like the only thought capable of entering his mind was how much it hurt.

Then he heard it, or rather felt it, someone calling to him for help.

He felt the urge to respond. And he began to fight. Trying to force his other sense to return to him, he pulled back from the pain, shoving it to the back of his mind.

Finally it cleared a little and he could see, they were surrounded by enemies, Ren was subdued, and the prince had a blade at his throat.

With all the force of his will, he turned his head and told the younger boy to run then called on his magic. There was no way he would be able to summon enough concentration to form his ice into any sort of shape, instead he just used it to freeze the four enemies inside the room. Then he turned to face the wall. Sucking in his breath, he sent a blast of pure energy, pushing away stone and dirt to make a way of escape.

As soon as the task was complete he collapsed to the ground, the pain flooding back again and blocking out all other senses.


	13. A Message Through Memories

Chapter Thirteen: A Message Through Memories

* * *

The fog of pain slowly lessened from his mind. As it cleared away other senses were able to get through. He forced his eyelids open. The scene before he was blurred beyond recognition. He could tell that it was still dark out and that there was a person standing very close to where he lay, still sprawled out on the ground, but that was all.

He heard a shuffle of movements, then a jolt of pain hit him as something slammed into his side. Before the pain could fully register the same object landed on his head and began grinding it into the ground.

Gray threw his hands up, trying to pry of the assaulting object, but he still didn't have enough control over his limbs to put enough strength into them.

He heard a menacing laugh, then a familiar voice.

"How's that feel boy? Hurts, doesn't it?"

His vision started to clear up more then and he could make out the form of a man towering above him with his foot grinding into his head.

The foot was removed and he was grabbed by the collar and hoisted into the air.

"Didn't I tell you you would receive the rest of your punishment?" the man asked before slamming Gray's back into the wall.

"Please don't break him, Captain. He still needs to be able to function properly in order to take down the wall."

Gray heard a calm voice from across the room. He turned his head slightly to the side. He could see someone sitting in the darkness, he was holding an open book in his hand and staring down at it, however, he couldn't tell if that was true or not since the man's face was hidden in the shadows.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle enough." The captain called back.

The man then turned and gave Gray a devilish grin before slamming a fist into his stomach. He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, then began to cough, spilling up bile and blood.

"As much as I'd love for this to continue." The captain drawled in mock sweetness, "I'd be willing to give you a pardon if you would be so kind as to to do us the favor of taking down that lovely wall you built."

Gray made no response.

"Playing it stubborn are you? Well, more fun for me then."

The captain let go of him, letting him fall to the ground, then began to beat him, raining down a fester of punches and kicks, his one wish being to cover every inch of the boy's body in bruises. Gray closed his eyes and brought his arms up to shield his face. He tried calling on his magic, but his mind was still to foggy for him to be able to form it into ice. He groaned in agony as his assailant landed a hard kick to his side, wishing he could fall back into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Gaa! What are we doing? We need to go back!" Ren yelled right into Erander's ear.

The prince was currently supporting the man as he couldn't walk very well with an injured leg.

"We can't go back. There must have been more than just those four. You're injured, I can't fight; we'll just be killed."

"So we're just going to abandon him?" he asked in disbelief.

"We're going to get help." the prince growled.

"From who?"

"Those were rebel soldiers. If we tell the guard about this then they're sure to come help fight them off."

Ren blinked at the boy, "If they see you you'll be arrested."

"I don't bloody care." the prince yelled, then began looking around frantically, "I remember there being a station here. We just have to get there and tell them where the enemy is. They can do whatever they want with me afterward."

* * *

The only tangible thoughts that could reach solid form inside his head were a slew of profanity and curses as he tire desperately to connect his thoughts through the pain and fog. His just wished everything would stop for just a few seconds so he could just think, but the pain kept hitting him again and again, rendering rational thought impossible. Finally he was given a bit of relive when the second man in the room spoke up.

"Captain, why don't you leave us for awhile."

"What?" The captain froze than turned to look at the man in the shadows as he stood to his feet, still reading the book in his hand.

"I'll handle it from here, why don't you go on up and act as look out?"

"Yes, sir." the captain said hesitantly and turned to leave, but not before giving Gray one last kick to the head.

Once Gray had a moment to rest he pulled himself up into a sitting position and turned to glare at the man he was now alone with.

"It seems you have a higher tolerance for pain then I expected. Will nothing brake you?" the man's clam voice changed to an angry growl as he walked over to him.

His mouth fell open in a silent gasp as he instantly recognized who was before him. He tried to stand but his now broken body lacked the strength and he collapsed again.

"Casey?" he rasped, his voice incredibly horse.

The man shut the book with a reverberating snap. His eyes took on a fiery glow as he glared down at the helpless boy.

"So you know who I am." his voice was calm yet carried the undertone of building rage.

"You were Ur's husband."

"I know what you know." he said, kneeling down on one knee so that he was eye level with him, "I know that you planned on using this spell on me." he held up the book and Gray saw that it was the one that Grim had given him, "It's quite hypocritical of you. You call me evil for changing the memories of others and yet you were planning on doing the very same thing to my own."

"But you-"

"Enough!" the man yelled and stood up, "I'm sick of you. I'm sick of poking around your mind, trying to brake your memories apart. Why don't you just give in to the inevitable?"

"Why do you want them so badly?"

In an instant Gray was grabbed by the caller and hoisted into the air so that his face was only and inch away form the black mage's.

"I just want to see all that devilwictches hard work gone to waste."

Gray's still clogged up mind couldn't fully process what the man had said, but he did understand who he had just insulted. With as much force as his broken body could muster he lung his fist into Casey's right eye. The act barely caused the man to flinch back. He looked at Gray's enraged face for a few seconds, puzzled then broke into a fit of laughter.

"You really think of her that highly. You think she's some kind of saint don't you?" his laughter faded as he lowered Gray so that his feet touched the floor yet still held onto him firmly, "Well then, why don't I just show you how your precious Ur really is." with that he touched his forehead against the boy's and Gray fell limp in his grasp, unconscious.

* * *

Suddenly everything was clear, all the pain was gone and the thoughts in his head could come through unhindered. He tried to move, but quickly realized that he couldn't. Taking in his environment, he noted that he was in a snow covered clearing. As he studied it more the colors seemed off, not a bright as they normally were.

His body suddenly turned of its own accord and he realized that it wasn't his own but someone else's. As he looked behind himself, he saw a figure approaching him, stepping gracefully through the snow as she made her way over to him. Even though she looked several years younger and her hair was longer than he remembered but he recognized her instantly.

"Ur." he heard a voice coming from his own throat ,it's tone cold and threatening.

"Stop running from my Casey, I can help you."

Gray felt an aching knot form in his heart as he listened to the desperation in the woman's voice.

He didn't get to stare at the for very long however, as Casey turned on his heels and started to run. He could hear Ur running after him, then the familiar sound of her magic. A wall of ice formed in front of him. He changed directions and took a sharp right turn only to be met with another wall.

In another instant Ur had caught up to him. She grabbed his hands and forced them apart, encasing his wrists in ice and pinning him to the wall.

"I said stop running." she growled, her expression threatening but not angry.

Her breathing was labored and uneven and he noticed that her hands were shaking slightly.

"Just hold still and let me do this. I'm not going to hurt you. You'll be fine once this is done." her voice cracked slightly as she whispered these words to him.

She leaned forward until their foreheads touched. He was frozen in place then, if it he hadn't been restrained by the ice, he wouldn't be able to move. His vision began to fade until he was immersed in black. A shudder ran through him as he felt her consciousness touch his.

He could feel the power surging through her body as he readied herself to cast a spell. Then the spell was released, it filled his mind completely. He trembled at the overwhelming power of it. It didn't hurt, yet the anticipation of pain was there. The pressure was building up and he knew that it was going to hurt soon.

Then it shattered.

The spell broke as another power filled him, forcing it to fall apart. In an instant he was filled with something he didn't recognize and yet he could tell that it was something that Casey knew well. His vision returned then and he could see Ur, lying on the ground, gasping for breath. The image became blurry as he was pulled out of the memory.

* * *

As the memory faded his own senses came back to him and he was struck again by the aching pain that covered his body. He forced his heavy eyelids opened to stare straight into Casey's. The dark mag's eyebrows were etched together as he stared back at him intently, their eyes only inches apart. Gray stared back in surprises; there wasn't any hatred in that gaze but something else. He couldn't figure out what however, and before he had another moment to think about it, he was dropped to the ground.

He gasped as he tumbled to the floor. Looking up, he was surprised to see Casey kneeling on the ground, his hands clutching his head.

Gray tried to speak, but was cut off when the ground started to shake. This time more violently than before. He lay flat on the ground and covered his head as parts of the ceiling started to fall from the vibrations. Then he felt it, that demonic aura seeping up from the earth, stronger now and more potent. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that it was coming towards him. Before he could think of what to do the aura had engulfed his body and entered into him.

"_Ice mage._"

He froze as an unknown voice forced it's way inside his head.

"_Ice mage._" it repeated. It seemed to be waiting for him to answer.

"What?" Gray spoke, trying to keep his voice calm.

"_It seems that my servant over there is incapable of accomplishing his task on his own._"

Gray's thoughts were spinning as the voice pounded inside his head. Things kept happening so fast he couldn't make sense of it.

"_Your good fortune as run out now, Ice mage. I will be taking over now. __Feel the ferocity of my wrath_"

After that was said the voice, the aura, and the shaking faded away.

As soon as the voice left him he felt Casey' heavy weight on top of him. One hand was on his head the other on his chest, holding him against the ground. The man leaned right up next to his ear and whispered into it.

"I'm going to thrash your memories so completely that you're going to wish you were dead once you wake up and find out what you've been reduced to."

His mouth fell open and he let out an unearthly scream as it felt like his head had been split in two. He convulsed on the floor, trying to force the man off of him, as it felt like every inch of his brain was being pried apart. If this was pain than the dizziness and headaches he felt before were just irritating inches.

He arched his back off of the ground as he struggled to take in breath. He couldn't fight this, he didn't know how to try and stop the magic that was digging away inside his head. Then he felt it take hold of him, of his thoughts as it tried to force him to think of something. He didn't know what it was but the way the magic pressed it against his mind it felt like an offering of relief; that if he took it all the pain would go away.

"What is it Gray? What is it that you think of that helps you to get through pain?"

He screamed again and pushed the thought away. He couldn't think of it. At that moment his he couldn't remember whym but he still knew it, that he shouldn't give over that one thing. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

His violent struggles slowly stopped and he just lay there in exhaustion and agony, his body trembling.

"Come on." Casey urged.

Gray forced his eyes open, tears spilling passed his lids as he did so. They rolled off his face into his black hair in fat droplets as he stared up at the man above him.

"Please." he force out, his voice barely audible.

Casey made no sign of recognizing what was said. Black spots began to dance before the boy's vision and he shut his eyes again as a fresh wave of pain overtook him. He just wanted it to stop. Please, oh, please let it end.

Again, that thought was offered to him and again, he forced it away, continuing to suffer through the agony. What little strength that he still had was quickly drained from him. Now all he had left was his will to keep him stable and that was quickly growing weaker.

He didn't want to give in he still willed the thought away as it was forced on him a third time, but the magic running through him was too much, it broke through him all at once. And like that the pain was gone, replaced with a single thought.

_Fairy Tail_

In an instant he was lost in a world of memories. Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Cana, Loke... everyone from Fairy Tail came rushing back to him. As he looked at the memories a feeling of guilt settled inside him. The memories slowly faded into pure white than nothing.

* * *

His eyes fluttered open. The memory of the pain he had felt just before lingered in the back of his head but he ignored it for now. He saw Casey leaning over him, he was breathing heavily, his shoulders and head sagged as he stared down blankly at him.

Immediately he remembered the spell, the one that would restore that man's memories. He quickly checked himself. If he had enough magic, then now would be the perfect opportunity to cast it. He seemed to have an ample amount of magic energy left, but he wouldn't know if that was enough until he tried the spell out.

Gathering his strength he reached up and grabbed Casey by the shoulders, pulling him out of his daze. Before the man had time to respond, he touched their foreheads together and closed his eyes. Calling on his magic he reached out to touch the man's consciousness.

He felt the man start to tremble in his grasp as he cast the spell, just as he had remembered learning it. It was difficult to guide it at first, but as the spell progressed the magic began to move more smoothly. Careful not to let his concentration slip he let the spell fill the man's mind. A few seconds and the spell was complete.

He opened his eyes. He felt nauseous after using so much of his magic. Before he could regain his composure, he felt something hard collide with his skull. His vision blurred then faded to black.


	14. Worries from Home

Chapter 14: Worries from Home

* * *

The fifth master downed the last of his drink. Letting out a contented sigh, he set the mug down on the counter he was seated upon. He looked back up at Mira who was currently briefing him on Fairy Tail's monthly financial report. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Juvia walk over to them, she stood off to the side and anxiously waited for them to finish their conversion.

He put a hand up, signaling Mira to stop for a moment, then turned to look at the young woman.

"No, my dear, I haven't received any word on Gray." He answered her, knowing he question before she even asked it; it was the same one she asked practically every day.

Juvia's face fell. She thanked him, then stalked off, her shoulders slumped.

"I'm sure Gray's doing fine, Juvia." Lucy said as the water mage sat down in between her and Wendy. Happy and Carla were both sitting on the table in front of them.

"It's pointless to worry." Happy said before taking in a mouthful of his fish, "Natsu, said-mph!"

The blue cat nearly chocked dinner as Carla gave him a hard slap to the head.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." she complained.

Happy forcefully swallowed down his food, then looked at Carla apologetically.

"Sorry." he said, bowing his head.

"Oh!" Juvia suddenly explained, brightening up as an idea came to her.

"Carla-san, can't you use your clairvoyance to see if Gray-sama is doing all right?" she asked, clapping her hands together and giving the white cat a pleading look.

"I'm afraid Gray is too far away for me to that." she explained, "You could ask Cana, she might be able to get a reading on him with her magic."

The water mage immediately stood up and rushed over to where the card mage was sitting with her legs wrapped around a barrel of wine.

"Cana-san?"

"Juvia, what's up?" Cana asked, waving her hand in greeting. Her cheeks were slightly pink from the alcohol.

"Juvia was wondering if Cana-san was able to use her magic to see if Gray-sama was doing all right."

"Well, sure." she replied with a shrug, "I can't make any promises but I can check. Maybe the cards will tell me something.

She pushed her barrel away and reached into her fluffy purse. Pulling out a stack of cards she set them on the table.

_Dong... Dong... Dong._

All conversation ceased as magnolia's bell tower sounded out through the clear sky. A minute later and the ground began to shake. Cheering went up throughout the hall; they all knew what that meant.

"So the old man finally made it back." Cana said with a grin. She picked up the cards and put the back into her purse.

"Wait, Cana-san," Juvia tried to stop her, "What about Gray-sama?"

The card mage gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Juvia. We'll have to do it later since I know Gildarts is going to attack me as soon as he steps through that door."

"Oh, okay." she said, her gaze shifted down to the floor and she turned away.

"Happy, where are you going?" Lucy asked when she noticed the blue cat summoning his wings.

"I'm going to go tell Natsu that Gildarts is back." he grinned at her over his shoulder as he flew out the door.

* * *

Happy found his fire-breathing companion in front of their house. As he flew closer he noticed that his friend was stretching out his muscles and looked rather perplexed as he did so.

"Natsu!" he called out as he landed a few feet away.

He didn't answer or give any indication that he had heard him.

He sighed, "You know, just because you're thinking, doesn't mean you can just ignore me."

Natsu stopped his movements, then plopped down next to Happy. He crossed his legs and stared down at them, still puzzled.

"So, what are you thinking about?" Happy asked, then leaned back and patiently waited for the other's answer.

After a solid minute Natsu finally spoke.

"I think there's something wrong with me." he said, his voice was lower than normal.

"Eh?" Happy jumped into his lap and reached a paw up to touch his forehead, "You seem just as warm as usual. What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Well..." Natsu began, leaning back on his elbows to look up at the sky, "I just feel... lighter somehow. My body feels less strained and more relaxed, and I can't find any aches or sore spots anywhere."

Happy stared at him like he had just grown a second head. "Natsu, you know those aren't symptoms for sickness right?"

"Eh? But I've always pain somewhere on me. I must be loosing sensation in my nerves or something. I should go see Wendy and-OW! Happy why'd you do that?" Natsu yelled as he clutched at the large scratch across his arm.

"You feel pain now, right?" the cat asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, 'cuz you scratched me."

"Then there's nothing wrong with you."

Natsu dropped the indignant look on his face and stared at his friend in confusion.

"Well then why-"

"Because you haven't been in any fights recently." Happy answered before he could finish the question.

Natsu's face lit up with realization, then his lips turned downward into a frown. He sighed and lay down on his back. He closed his eyes and reached a hand up to stroke the cat's blue fur. Happy purred and lay down on his belly, enjoying the warmth of his hands.

"You're an idiot, Natsu."

"I know." he muttered, "It just felt so odd."

"Maybe you just need a good brawl, then you'll probably feel better."

"I don't really feel like fighting right now."

This statement caused Happy to sit up in surprise. Natsu didn't feel like fighting? Sure, he hadn't gotten into that many brawls recently, but he figured that was just because his usually sparing partner was gone. The cat looked down at his friend sadly. Then he remembered why had had come there in the first place and immediately perked up.

"I know what will cheer you up." he said gleefully.

"What?" Natsu opened one eye to look at him.

"Gildarts is back in town."

"Oh?" Natsu exclaimed as he sat up and grinned. Then he stood up and began running back towards town.

"Natsu, wait up." Happy yelled after him.

* * *

"How's my little girl been doing. I think you've grown taller haven't you?"

"I haven't grown an inch. Stop saying creepy stuff and put me down."

"But I haven't seen you in so long."

"Can't we just sit down and have a normal talk over a beer like normal people?"

Gildarts sighed but, his smile never faded as he set his huffy daughter down.

"As you wish princes."

"Don't call me that."

"Hey, Mira, a couple of your best drinks for me and the princess."

Cana growled, but smiled inwardly as she sat down opposite her father.

"So how have things been?"

"The usual."

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Her face fell as the obvious came to mind. She shifted awkwardly in her seat, pondering how best to tell him.

"I something wrong Cana?" Gildarts immediately switched into protective father mode as he saw the distress play out on his daughter's face.

Cana was quiet for a few minutes, then she softly spoke. "Gray told me to tell you goodbye."

"Gray? Why would Gray need to say goodbye?"

Cana sighed, then looked Gildarts in the eye. "Gray left the guild."

What followed was a lengthy explanation of the events following up to Gray's departure. It wasn't very satisfying, even after Lucy and Erza came over to try and help explain, they couldn't get the man to understand why Gray left. Most of it was due to the fact that they themselves didn't really understand why Gray left.

"I think I told Master more than he told us." Erza said, "You could try talking to him, but I'm not sure if you'll get anything out of him."

Gildarts sighed, "Where is the master?"  
"I think he went home." Mira called out from behind the counter.

"I see. I'll talk to him later then."

He looked at the three girls in front of him and shook his head. "You seem really okay with in just up and leaving without a good explanation."

"He was very determined and said that this was something he needed to do." Erza said.

"Is he planning on coming back."

"I think..." Lucy struggled to find the right words to say, "I think he was planning on coming back if everything went well... but he didn't seem very optimistic about it."

"Of course he's coming back."

They all jumped at Natsu's loud voice and turned around to see the their pink-haired friend grinning at them.

"Hey, Natsu, how have you been." Gildarts asked as he grinned back.

"I've been good."

There was a long pause as Gildarts started at the boy expectantly, finally he spoke.

"Aren't you going to challenge me?"

Natsu laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sure, later, right now I don't really feel like fighting."

The man cocked his head at this. "What are you sick or something?"

"No, I'm fine. I just came over to say hi."

Gildarts crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, either you really matured since I was gone or there's something wrong with you, and I'm going to bet it's the latter."

"I'm fine, really." Natsu insisted. "You want me to prove it, fine, let's go right now. You and me."

"Natsu." Gildarts sighed, "If something is wrong then just tell us. Is there any reason you should keep this from your friends."

"I told you I'm fine." he said with a huff and turned away, "If you're not going to fight me than I'm to find some dinner and go to bed. It's getting late."

"You're not going to go raid my pantry are you?" Lucy asked with one eyebrow raised.

No answer.

"Natsu!" she yelled and stormed off after him.

"He's just mopey because Gray's gone." Erza said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I figured that." Gildarts replied. He chuckled and a small smile spread across his face. "He's still too stubborn to admit that he misses him.

* * *

Having been kicked out of Lucy's soft and comfy bed, Natsu and Happy were forced to sleep on her sofa that night. At least he tried to get some sleep. He must have shifted around a hundred different times, trying to find a comfortable enough position so he could relax enough and get some shut eye.

"Natsu?"

He groaned as he heard Happy's voice whisper into his ear.

"Natsu?"

"What?"

"Do you think Gray's doing all right?"

"Of course he is. I told you there's no need to worry. Gray will be back before we know it, and when he does, I'll beat the snot out of him, then we'll drag him back to the guild to celebrate."

Happy was quiet for a few seconds, then he whispered into his ear again.

"Do you think he'll be them when he gets back?"

"Of course he will. Gray's never going to change. Why do you keep asking dumb questions when you should be asleep.

"I can't."

"Why not?" he asked in exasperation.

"Because I can't stop thinking about Gray and whenever I think about him, my tummy starts to hurt."

Natsu turned his head to look at his friend and was shocked to see tears brimming in the cat's big eyes. He sat up and pulled him into a hug. He let the cat cry softly into his chest as he stared blankly off into the dark.

"Natsu."

He whipped his head around to see the outline of Lucy's frame as she shuffled over to them.

"Sorry. Did we wake you up?" he asked.

"No, I couldn't sleep." she went over and sat down on the couch next to him.

"What's wrong with Happy." she asked, hearing the soft crying coming from the furry ball.

Natsu shook his head, "He'll be alright."

Lucy nodded, then turned her head to stare down at the floor.

"Are you okay?"

She sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I just can't shake the feeling that something bad's happening to Gray right now." she murmured.

"Oh," Natsu stared blankly at her then looked down at Happy who had stopped crying and had fallen asleep.

"Are you sure we should just wait here for him to come back? What if he needs our help?"

Natsu leaned over and wrapped and arm around the girl's shoulders. He could feel her body shake slightly as he touched her.

"If he thought that we could help him then he would of brought us along. Gray's not someone who'd leave his friends behind without a good reason for it."

"I still can't help but worry." she said.

"It'll be all right. Gray will come back I guarantee it."

"Hmm" she hummed, leaning against his side.

They stayed like that for a long while. Slowly their eyelids began to droop closed. Not long after that they were asleep.

* * *

They were pulled awake by the sound of metal banging against Lucy's door.

"That sounds like Erza's knock." Happy muttered as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"What's she doing here so early?" Lucy wondered as she sat up. Then she gasped in horror as she realized that she had been lying on top of Natsu. How that had happened, she had no idea.

"AAA!" she screamed and tumbled off the sofa.

"Lucy, why you gotta yell into my ear like that?" Natsu growled in irritation.

"It's just Lucy being her usual crazy self." Happy explained as he got up to answer the door.

Before he could reach it, however it was flung open and Erza's commanding voice filled the room.

"Natsu, Lucy, Happy: Get up, get dressed, get packed, and get out here. And no dilly dallying.

"Aye!" Natsu yelled in a panic and immediately set to work on fulfilling the scarlet-haired woman's wishes.

Lucy quickly followed suit and they were soon standing outside her apartment with Erza staring at them in dead seriousness. Lucy noted the cart full of suitcases and guessed that they would be heading off somewhere.

"So, where are we going?" she asked.

"To go help Gray, of course." she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Did you not feel the call?"

"Uh," Natsu cocked his head to the side, "What call."

"The one last night, I couldn't sleep it was so strong." Erza gritted her teeth and held a clenched fist up to her face as she spoke, "Gray must truly be in need of help, and in his darkest hour the bond of friendship that we share with him alerted us to his plight. Now we must act, for it is are duty as his comrades to rush to his side and fight together."

"Okay," Happy flew over and landed on Erza's shoulder, "I did feel really worried about Gray last night, but are you sure that that was the bond of friendship calling out to us?"

"Do you have a better explanation?" Erza asked, dropping her hand down.

Happy just stared at the blankly, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Whether it's friendship bonds or whatever, I think Erza's right; we should go see if Gray needs our help." Lucy cut in.

"Then let us be off."

Erza grabbed the handle of her card and began to pull it away when she suddenly stopped and turned to look at Natsu. The boy was just standing there with his head down and was staring blankly at the ground.

"Come on, Natsu, We know you're just as worried about him as we are." she said.

He shook his head. He didn't say anything but silently started to follow her.

* * *

They arrived at the train station ten minutes before the first train morning train departed. Natsu stared up at the train engine for a long moment.

"Guys, I don't think we should go."

"What?" Erza yelled and stalked over to him. She grabbed his shoulder harshly and spun him around so she could look into his eyes. "Why?" she asked, letting her cold stare bore into him.

He didn't even flinch at the rough treatment and met her serious gaze with one to match it. "I think we should trust Gray." he said, his tone lower than normal.

"Aren't you worried about him?" Lucy asked as she took a cautious step forward.

"Of course I'm worried." Natsu suddenly yelled, startling Erza so much that she filched and took a small step back.

His head fell and Lucy noticed his shoulders shake slightly. "The idea that he might not come back terrifies me."

Her heart clenched as he felt his voice crack.

"I want to run after him and drag him back here, but I also want to be able to trust him."

"But we can't just-" Lucy started to say, but froze when Natsu looked up and glared at her.

"He left Lucy. He quit the guild. He left his family. That's how much he doesn't want anyone to follow him. If he had to go far just to..." his voice faltered and turned away.

Silence engulfed them as they stood there, frozen, waiting for the next person to speak.

"Oh good, I was worried I was going to have to chase a train down."

They all flinched in surprise and whipped their heads around to see Gildarts running up to them.

"What are you doing here?" Happy asked.

"I came here to stop you. Levi told me about Erza's plan to run off after Gray."

They all looked at him in confusion.

"Why would you want to stop us?" Erza asked.

Gildarts sighed. "Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy," he gave each of them a hard stare as he said each of their names, "I spoke with the master last night and he told me the details of why Gray had to leave along."

They stared at him in dead silence, waiting for him to continue.

"While I don't know everything, from what I was told I can say for certain that Gray made the right choice in what he did and that it would be detrimental to his mission if anyone of you were to follow after him."

"But he needs our help." Erza cut in, "I know he does."  
Gildarts put a hand up to stop her.

"You don't need to worry. I'm headed to Isvan right now to check up on him."

All four of them blinked in surprise.

"You are?" Natsu asked.

Gildarts nodded. "Master asked me to go. I can't explain it right now but according to him I'm the best person to send.

"Well," Lucy sighed with relief, "If there's anyone that can help him out and bring him home it's you."

The man chuckled, then reached up to rub the blond's hair. Just then the call sounded for people to start boarding the train.

"Well, I'd better be going. I'll send word on how Gray's doing as soon as I can."

They all felt relieved as they waved goodbye. And yet none of them could shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to their friend.


	15. Manipulation and Lies

Chapter Fifteen: Manipulation and Lies

* * *

"Open up!" Erander screamed as he pounded his fists upon the wooden door of the city's guard, "The enemy is in the city. We need help!"

Ren plopped down next to the screaming boy and twisted his leg so he could get a good look at his wound. He tore the leg of his pants, wincing at the cold wind hit his exposed skin. He wrapped the cloth tightly around the cut, then looked up as the door to the station was swung open by a glaring guardsman. His eyes widened in shock as he took in the boy who was glaring back at him.

"Have you come to turn yourself in?" he asked, his mouth agape.

"Look, you can arrest me or whatever you like, but my friend's in danger. The rebels have entered the city, you need to get over there now!" Erander pleaded.

The guardsman's hand shot out and grabbed the boy's shoulder. In a split second the boy was flung inside where too other guardsman were sitting at a small table.

"Lock him put and make sure he doesn't escape." the first one yelled.

The two immediately stood to their feet and leaped forward to restrain the prince.

"Hang on!" Ren yelled, pulling himself to his feet, "Aren't you going to go after the enemy. The prince was telling the truth you know."

The man turned to glare at Ren, "We'll take care of this enemy first. Just wait there patiently, then you can lead us to the rest of the rabble."

Ren was about to shout out another retort, but Erander stopped him.

"It's fine!" the boy said as strong arms pulled his hands behind his back "do as he says then show them the way."

Reluctantly, he complied. After about two minutes of waiting two guardsman stepped out, slamming the door shut behind him.

"You're going to need more men than that. There were five of them, maybe six from what I remember." he informed then men, giving them a cold hard glare.

"We're just checking to make sure your information is correct." the man sneered, "Now are you going to show us the way or let us get back inside out of the cold.

Ren suppressed the urge to punch the guy and instead concentrated his energy on getting back to Gray as quickly as possible.

His chest was heaving and his leg felt like it was on fire when he stumbled to the ground in front of the blown apart building. He pointed at it to let the two men know that that was the place, although they probably would have guessed it. The lack of noise coming out of the structure did little to stir Ren's hopes. He only wished that they didn't find the ice mage's body.

He struggled to his feet in order to get his own look inside. From the light of the guardsman's lantern he could see the blood on the floor but nothing else. Cursing under his breath, he looked over at the two men who were staring at the scene in puzzlement.

"So now what?" he asked.

There was no answer. They simply shook their heads and turned to leave.

"Is that all you're going to do? Nothing?" he yelled at their retreating forms.

They made no response and he didn't have the strength to run after them.

* * *

Gray turned over in his sleep. He unconsciously, pulled the covers up over his head to shut out the light. He could feel the sun rays shining on him, pulling him awake, but his aching body did not want to comply. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard someone snoring right next to him. His eyes shot open and he rolled his head around, searching out the intruder. His eyes fell upon a man who was slumped down in a chair facing his bed, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep.

"Casey?" Gray gasped and sat up.

The sudden movement sent a jolt a pain through him. He glanced down and saw that his shirt had been removed and replaced with several bandages that covered up his wounds. He heard a moan and turned his head around to see Casey starting to wake up. He shoved his fist into his palm without thinking and cast a spell, causing ice to form around the man's wrists and ankles, trapping him to the chair.

Casey was now fully awake. He looked around until his eyes met Gray's. His features were sunken and somber. Slowly his lips curled up into a smile.

"Good morning, Gray." he said tiredly.

"What's going on?" Gray demanded as he stared back at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"  
His smile faded. "Gray what was the last thing you remember before you passed out?"

Gray froze as the most recent event that he remembered came tumbling back to him.

"I-" he started to speak, trying to decide what the right thing to say would be in this situation, "I cast the spell on you." he finished.

Casey nodded and half of his previous smile returned. "You did, and it worked as far as I can tell."

Gray slowly slid off the bed, keeping his hands firmly together. "So your memories-"

"They're back to how they were. And I can explain everything to you. Will you listen to me?" he asked pleadingly.

Gray walked to the other side of the room and leaned up against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest while staring at the incapacitated man, pondering his next move.

"Where are we and what happened after I passed out?" he asked, his voice demanded.

"We're still in the city. I brought you to and inn after you cast the spell. You slept till morning." Casey answered, simply.

"What happened to the other two that were with me?"

"They got away after you blew a hole in the wall."

"What about the men that were with you?"

"I sent them away and haven't seem then since. They're probably passed out somewhere after drinking all night. Or they might be looking for me, I'm not sure."

Gray sighed and shut his eyes, trying to remember what else happened last night. The memory of the pain that had assaulted him came back as well as the thought that had been forced on him.

Fairy Tail.

As those two words entered his mind his eyes shot open as a shock wave of sounds and images took poured over him. Cold discussed voices, eyes filled with hate, pain.

As the torrent of memories tore at him the small concentration it took to keep the spell going broke and the ice trapping Casey dissolved. As soon as the man realized he was free he stood up and rushed over to the boy as he collapsed to his knees.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he knelt at his side.

Gray was staring blankly ahead, his shoulders quivering slightly.

"Fairy Tail." he spat the word out through clenched teeth.

Casey's eyes widened in realization and he reached out and grabbed Gray's shoulder.

"They're not real Gray. I changed your memories around; the one's you're seeing now aren't real."

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, shoving the man away.

He stood to his feet, his wide eyes still staring blankly at nothing, and took several steps backward until his back hit the opposite wall.

"Gray, I'm sorry. I promise I'll do everything I can to fix them." Casey pleaded.

Gray opened his mouth and clamped down on his tongue. The pain and the taste of his own blood pulled him back into reality. He blinked several times until his eyes focused back on Casey.

"You-you did this to me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Casey nodded and hung his head. "I'm sorry. My actions were beyond my control at that point, but I will do all I can to bring them back to normal."

Gray leaned his head back against the wall and sighed, "Tell me everything." he said.

Casey nodded and stood to his feet. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Okay, bare with me. My memories have just been changed and it may take me a awhile to sort them out."

Gray waited patiently for the man to collect his thoughts. Finally, he spoke.

"It was... not long after Ur and I were first married; a year maybe? I was training, meditating actually; trying to stretch my magic to reach greater distances, when I brushed up against a consciousness. It was so faint and weak, I didn't see it as any kind of threat. That consciousness was an ancient demon, born over a thousand years ago."

Gray's eyebrows shot up at this. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together.

"I started conversing with it." Casey continued, "It would tell me stories about the great events that took place long ago. I was so fascinated by what it told me that would talk with it nearly every day. I never realized what it was doing to me during that time until you came along."

The man paused for a moment to smile at Gray. "When I saw your memories of Ur I was shocked by how different they were from my own. At first I hated you because of your connection with her, but as I wandered through your mind I slowly realized what had happened to me."

Gray noticed the man's shoulders shake as he looked away from him. "The demon I had met." he said, his voice growing quiet, "He calls himself Vaeyog and he posses the power to control other being's magic. Without me so much as suspecting anything he had taken control of my memory magic and had me use it on myself, forcing me to alter Ur and everyone else I knew and turning me into his sick little puppet."

Casey stopped talking then and hung his head, slowly he sunk down and sat on the floor. Gray took a step towards the man then froze, not sure of what to do.

The man let out a heavy sigh then spoke up again. "When we fought, I tried to show you how to use that spell so you could fix my memories for me, without letting Vaeyog catch on that I was wising up to his manipulations."

"That memory of Ur you showed me." Gray's eyes brightened in realization.

"Yes," Casey nodded, "That was one of the few memories I had of her that weren't completely distorted. I even tried to fix it up before showing it to you, trying to make it look like the real Ur, the one you knew."

"But then you-" Gray couldn't finish the sentence as he felt is legs grow weak at the memory of what had happened to his mind.

"I'm sorry." Casey said again looking up at Gray with wide pleading eyes. "If I had been in control I would have never done that to you, but Vaeyog took complete control of me after that. He can't do it for very long since his power is still weak, but he does have that ability." the man shook his head and stood to his feet, "I'm just so glade you were able to cast fix me, now everything is back to how it should be."

Gray blinked in confusion. "What do you mean."

Casey smiled at him. "When you fixed my mind, I was able to break free of Vaeyog control and the spell on everyone ended. Now all their memories are back to normal."

"What?" Gray's mouth fell open in shock. "You mean you were controlling the memories of everyone in Isvan?"

"It was my magic, combined with the demon's that did." Casey said then shook his head as Gray still stared at him in confusion, "Let me explain. If what Vaeyog told me is true, then long ago when the dragons still ruled the earth they attacked Vaeyog and nearly killed him. But he escaped after all his strength had been spent and buried himself deep within the earth. His plan was to wait there until the lives of the dragons that wanted him dead had ended. But all those years of waitied had rotted his body so that when the dragons had finally disappeared from the earth he had no strength to revive himself. So he was forced to wait there until I came along."

The man let out a shaky sigh and stared blankly at the floor. "That monster feeds off of black magic and hatred. So he used me to build up the black magic market and to start a way, manipulating my memories to make me think that that was what I wanted. He's almost built up enough strength now. The attack on the capital was supposed to be the tipping point. With the slaughtering of the city that should have been enough hatred and bloodshed to give him the power to rise to the surface."

Gray nodded slowly as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just been told. It was too much to take in at once and he still needed to find the prince and Ren to see if they were all right. He walked over to the door, opened it and stepped out into the hallway of the inn. He heard Casey following silently behind him as he navigated his way to the front door.

Stepping outside, he was met with the sight of billions of snowflakes falling straight downward to cover the ground. They were coming down so quickly that after just a few seconds of standing there he was already covered in them. He stepped forward only to have his leg sink knee deep into the freezing piles of white.

"Don't you want your coat? And your shirt?" he heard Casey ask behind him.

He turned to see that the man had grabbed his clothes before leaving the room and was now offering them to him. He gave him a suspicious look before grabbing the garments and throwing them over his bandaged back, then turned to trudge away.

"Do you not believe me?"

"I have no solid reason to believe you yet." he stated simply without turning around.

"Gray!"

The ice mage froze as he heard a familiar voice calling out his name.

"Ren!" he called back, turning around to see the his friend limping over to him.

Ren suddenly froze and turned his head to stare in puzzlement at the man standing behind him. Gray looked at Casey then back at Ren and motioned for him to come closer. The man cautiously did so, still keeping a weary eye on the other mage.

"Ren, are you all right? Where's Erander?" Gray questioned as he walked the few remaining feet until he was right next to the man

"He's fine, and I'll be all right." he answered before pointing at Casey. "But what is he doing here?"

Gray grabbed the man's accusing hand and forced it back down. "It's fine Ren. I used the spell on him and it seems to have worked. He says that everyone's memories have returned to normal. Is that true?"

Ren nodded, "Yes, that's what the prince said. His memories are back and it seems the rest of the citizens have theirs back as well. But, how? And how did you know?"

"Casey told me that the spell was broken as soon as he got his own memories back." Gray explained letting out a sigh of relief.

He had thought that everything suddenly being fixed was too good to be true, but Ren's testimony had confirmed it.

"Is the rest of Isvan fixed as well? Or just the city?"

"Everyone's been fixed." Gray said, a small smile creeping onto his face.

Ren grinned back at him. "So it's all over. You can take down the wall then."

Gray blinked in confusion, then turned his head. He could see the giant sheet of ice sticking up over the houses. "Oh, right, the wall. I guess I can take it down now can't I?"  
Ren nodded. "The army on the other sides probably running around like crazy trying to figure out why they're there."

"Okay then," Gray said, "I'll go take down the wall."

"Good. I'll go tell Erander that you're safe." with that Ren turned and began limping away as fast as he could before Gray could say anything else to him.

Gray blinked after him a bit confused; there was something off about that conversation but quickly shook it off. He felt Casey's hand on his shoulder and turned to look at the man.

"You have a task to get done don't you?" he asked.

Gray nodded, then turned around and began walking through the streets, slowly making his way over to his creation.

* * *

Relief swept over the man as he made out the ice mage's face through the falling snow. He had searched all night for a clue to the boy's whereabouts and had found nothing. In the morning he had simple roamed the streets, hoping against all doubts that he would perhaps chase upon something, and like a miracle, there he was before him. He eagerly called out his name and got an equally enthusiastic response. As he hobbled over to him, he suddenly froze as his eyes fell upon the man that had caused all this trouble.

"Ren, are you all right? Where's Erander? He heard Gray ask.

"I'm all right. The prince was captured, but still alive, I think" he answered before pointing at Casey. "But what is he doing here?"

His mind reeled as he tried to understand why Gray would be with that man.

He felt Gray grab his hand and pull it down."It's fine Ren. I used the spell on him and it seems to have worked. He says that everyone's memories have returned to normal. Is that true?"

"What?" his mouth fell open as he stared at Gray in disbelief. "That's ridiculous. No! Nothings changed."

He saw Gray's eyes widen in horror, then the boy froze and his eyes closed. Ren's head whipped around to see Casey walking casually over to them. The memory mage reached out to rest a hand on Gray's shoulder.

"You people just love to try and mess my plans up don't you." he said.

Ren felt the heat rise to his face as anger consumed him.

"Don't touch him!" he roared and lunged at the dark mage.

The attack failed as a swift kick connected with his injured leg. He gasped in pain and his vision blurred. Before he had the change to collect himself a knee collided with his gut and he fell to the ground as darkness overtook him.

Casey kicked his body aside and turned his attention back to the ice mage. Gray's eyes slowly opened and he turned took look at him.

"You have a task to get done don't you?" he asked.


	16. A Shot of Cold

Chapter Sixteen: A Shot of Cold

* * *

Erander curled into a ball as he lay on his side. The cold, wet floor of his cell sent a shiver coursing through him. He was too cold and too nervous to sleep. After he had been captured, he was taken to the castle's holding block to wait there until morning. He guessed that the guard didn't want to risk angering the king by waking him up in the middle of the night.

He glanced over at the cell door, wondering if it was light out yet. There were no windows in the tiny cell and thus no way to tell what time it was. He had scoured the place for any means of escape and had come up empty. His only option now was to wait and hope for a miracle.

He jumped to his feet when he heard the screech of his door being open. Before he even had the change to get a good look at who was there he was grabbed by both arms and yanked into the hall. He felt cold metal clamp around his wrists as he was shackled. He heard a sword being draw, then felt the sharp blade poking his back.

"Get a move on prince." the man behind him, spat, "His majesty wants to see you."

* * *

He stretched out his arms, letting his fingers glide over cold suffice. It was a simple task of taking back control of the spell he had locked in place. It was even simple to unravel it. And yet for some reason he hesitated.

"Hurry it up, Gray!" Casey urged from behind him, "Then we can go catch up with Ren."

Gray nodded and closed his eyes. The magic swirled around him, causing the falling snow to blow around in all directions. The massive wall surrounding the city shook than dissipated, leaving behind a flurry of swirling snowflakes.

The ice mage looked up, waiting for the snow to settle so he could have a good look around. After a few moments he was able to make out the tents that marked the rebel camp. He turned around and looked at Casey, wondering what he should do next.

"Shall we go down there and explain everything to them?" he asked.

The man shook his head. "You go back and find your friends. I'll go down there and try and fix up the mess I made. It'll just complicate things if you're with me."

Gray hesitantly agreed. He still wasn't sure about anything. He just hoped that after he got the chance to talk to Prince Erander and Grim that everything would make sense.

He turned around and headed back into the city. The streets were empty, everyone was no doubt relaxing by their warm fires, content to stay there until winter was over. Now that it was silent and all distractions were gone, his mind wandered back to things it shouldn't, as he shuffled through the snow.

He bit his lip as the fake memories began to assault him again. He had grown a little more used to their presence, at the very least he was over the shock of them. Now that he knew they weren't real it was a little easier to look at them. But something still bothered him; If they weren't true, then who exactly where these people to him. Fairy Tail, that place that, to him, as his memories were now, seemed to be made up of the coldest and cruelest people on earth. And it was with them that he had spent the better part of his life? If these memories really were fake, then he wanted to know, he wanted to know who these people really were. Who they really acted

He had to stop himself from turning around right then and running back to Casey and demanding an explanation of what is past was really like. He shook the thought from his head, telling himself that he would get the chance latter.

He continued on for several minutes, lost in his own thoughts, trudging blindly ahead until he was suddenly pulled back to reality of them by a shrill noise. He froze as the scream forced its way through the thick air.

Another scream, then a yell and then a crash. It took a split second for Gray to register what was going on before he turned on his heels and dashed towards the noise, flinging snow into the air as he went. A good distance off, he heard a bell being rung, sending out an alarm to the rest of the city.

"Casey!" he roared and forced himself to move even faster.

* * *

Erander gasped as he was shoved forcefully to his knees. His notarial were immediately assaulted by the stench of dried blood and other filth he that he didn't care to try and identify. Slowly he lifted his head, hoping he wasn't where he dreaded he was. As he took in the dark chamber his fears were confirmed.

He honestly didn't know what all went on down here since he was never curious enough to ask, but he knew that this was the place where they punished and executed the criminals that they wanted to keep away from the public eye.

He tried to stand, but was stopped by a boot pressed against his back. He turned his head to yell a curse at the man but froze, when he heard a door rattle open. He could practically hear his stomach flip inside of him as two more men entered the camber followed by the king.

His father took a few steps towards him, careful not to touch the walls or anything inside that filthy room.

"Where is the mage you brought into this city?" the king asked, his gaze set firmly upon him.

He pressed his lips together and made no response. He saw the slightest twitch of his father's features, but otherwise the man remained impassive.

"Your rebellion has gone on long enough." he stated, crossing his arms, then he turned to one of the men. He didn't say anything but merely nodded his head. The man nodded, understanding the silent order and stepped towards Erander, drawing a knife.

The prince felt his entire body grow still. He wanted to scream, he wanted to struggle, but instead he just knelt there as rigid as a board as he blade was brought up to his neck.

"Your majesty!"

Everyone jerked and turned to look at the door as another man burst into the room. His face was flushed and he was gasping for breath

"The city's under attack!" the man exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath.

The king's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. He turned back to Erander and glared down at him before looking back at the man that was about to slit his throat.

"Flog him." he ordered before hurrying out the door.

* * *

Gray's body still ached with the injuries he had sustained the night before begging him to slow down and rest, but he ignored them as he rushed through the city. He saw a batch of rebel soldiers up ahead running in his direction. Without a second thought, he encased them in ice and continued on.

"Casey!" he roared again. The feel of his magic coursing through him, gave him an extra shot of adrenaline.

He encountered and mobilized another group of rebels before he spotted the dark mage. He was on the rooftops, kicking off clumps of snow as he leaped from house to house. Gray grabbed hold of a hanging gutter and shimmied up the nearest building.

He yelled the man's name again as he rushed after him. Since he could run faster through the snow than the other man he quickly gained on him.

Casey looked over his shoulder to glare at Gray. As he did so his foot hit a loose shingle and his leg slipped out from under him. He rolled off the roof and fell onto the snow covered ground. Gray expertly slid off the roof and landed on top of the man instantly freezing his arms and legs in place.

"You liar!" he roared in the man's face, "The spell didn't work! Your memories haven't been restored!"

"You never even cast the spell!" the other yelled back, "I had to plant that memory in you since you're such a pathetic mage you couldn't even do that much!"

"What?"

Their conversation was interrupted when Gray heard the sound of clanking armor. He looked up to see rebel soldiers advancing towards them. He readied himself for an attack, but stopped when they completely ignored him and ran passed.

"Where are they going?" He growled, turned back to glare at Casey.

"I ordered them to head straight for the king and take him out." the man said, "If you want to stop this than hurry up and finish me."

Gray let out a growl and raised a fist, preparing to punch the man's lights out. His fist suddenly froze in mid descent as he saw something flash in the others eyes. Sadness? Regret? No. It was so out of place and didn't match his other features that Gray had to stop and figure out what it was. Finally it struck him, and his face softened.

"That wasn't all lies you told me was it?" he said, his voice gentle.

Whatever was in the man's eyes vanished, and was replaced by a ferocious glare. "Of course they were! I had to tell you all that nonsense in order to get you to take down that wall. Thanks for that by the w-"

He was cut short as Gray's fist collided with his nose.

"Shut up!" he yelled. He gritted his teeth and looked the man straight in the eye. "I get what you were trying to tell me all this time."

"Fool! I wasn't trying to tell you anything!" Casey yelled, which earned him another hit to the face.

"I said shut up!" Gray said again, this time his voice was softer "Shut up and let me help you. I get it now; the spell won't work as long as you're possessed by that demon."

He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. The dark mage's eyes widened and he started to struggle against the ice that encased his limbs. Gray ignored his efforts and focused on how he was going to work this spell. He needed to somehow pry the demon's hold off of him. His magic could do that, couldn't it?

Calling upon the power his father had given him, he tried to fill Casey's body with it. Immediately he was met with resistance. He could sense what he guessed was the demon's power fighting him. Without hesitation, he fought back, pouring all his energy into the man's body. He could feel Casey shivering as his magic washed over him. He was winning! The evil energy was retreating. Then it was gone. Gray gasped as a smile spread across his face. Now came the hard part.

Proceeding just as he had seem himself do in the false memory that was placed inside his head, he entered the others mind. He saw flashes of Casey's memories as he worked the spell. Ignoring them, he proceeded as carefully as possible. Despite what is memories to him, he had still never done this before and could easily mess up. After was seemed like an hour of concentration he finally relaxed as the spell was completed.

Gray opened his eyes and pushed himself up with shaking arms. Casey mouth opened in a desperate gasp for air. His chest heaved up and down as his eyes opened and fixed themselves on Gray. He stared at the boy for a long, drawn out moment. Slowly, Gray began to see recognition in those eyes and he climbed off the man and sat on his heels.

He looked around, noticing that the sounds of battle had grown louder. All around them, he could hear the clash of swords and armor and the cries of men as they fought. He could see a few of them, not far off.

Casey's head lulled to the side and he let out a shaky breath. "Get this ice off me, Gray." he said, his voice quiet but firm.

Gray leaned forward, "Did it work?" he asked, unsure.

Casey nodded, but didn't look at him.

Gray took the chance and released the man. Casey rose to his feet, his breathing was still heavy, but had more or less even out. He turned and locked gazes with Gray, his expression grim.

"I'll thank you properly later. Right now I need you to use your magic to pinpoint where the demon is going to surface. You'll want to kill it right away because that's when it'll be at its weakest. Once it's out in the open, it'll start absorbing the dark magic that's settled in the air as well as the hatred of the men fighting and use it to gain strength."

"What?"

"Did you forget your mission?" Casey growled. He grabbed Gray's arm and yanked him around so he could shove his hand into his coat pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Now get going. He'll start coming up at any moment."

With those words the man turned around and started running.

"Where are you going?" Gray yelled after him.

"To clean up my mess!" he called over his shoulder.

Gray stared at his retreating form for a few moments, then turned his attention to the paper in his hand. He folded it open and read the words written on it.

'_Save Isvan from the darkness that's tormenting it._'

There were further details, but Gray didn't have the time to read those as the ground suddenly started to shake. It was so violent this time that it tipped him over and shook the snow off the rooftops. He quickly stood to his feet and tried to regain balance. He could feel the demonic energy seeping up from the earth. Now he just needed to find where it was the strongest. He took one look back from where Casey had fled, then started running.

Gray headed out in what he had guessed to be the direction in which the demonic waves were coming up the strongest. He wasted no time, ducking through streets and plowing through snow at top speed. Whenever he ran into a soldier, he froze them solid, regardless of what side they were on; he couldn't have them killing each other before he had the change to fix everything.  
Just when he was being to lose his direction and wonder where to turn, the next wave hit. The force shaking the ground was twice as fierce this time, even causing some of the older buildings to collapse. People began pouring out into the street, more willing to face the attacking rebels than to be crushed under their own houses.  
Gray now had a better bearing on where the demonic power was the strongest. It seemed to be pulsating from the center of the city. He estimated that from the amount it was emitting, the demon's energy matched his own when he was at full power. He mentally cursed himself for his shortsightedness; shouldn't have been using his magic so extensively.  
Once the ground had settled down enough for him to be able to run without losing his balance he took off again. This time whenever he encountered an enemy, he only froze their feet. He needed to save his magic for when the demon emerged.  
Finally, he reached the place he had pinpointed. It was a fork in the street with two three story buildings on either side. Then it was silent. At least the demon was, the sounds of fighting and panic still echoed around him.

He shut his eyes, trying to pick up any traces of demonic energy, but there were none except for the lingering bits that were quickly fading.

"Now what?" he asked as he bent over to try and catch his breath.

* * *

He wanted to shout, he wanted to scream. He wanted to run a mile, climb a mountain a bellow to the world the freedom he felt right now after all those years of believing a lie. But celebrating would have to wait; he needed to act and he needed to act now.

Heading straight for the king's castle. He had left Gray behind, confident that the boy would be able to track down Vaeyog with his magic. Seeing some of his men, he circled to the left to cut them off.

"Lord Ulfrick!" they exclaimed, instantly recognizing him.

He said nothing. Stepping up to the nearest man he pressed his palm to the soldier's forehead. The man froze as the Casey took hold of his mind. It took the mage less than six seconds to unravel the man's memories and place them back they way they should be. It wasn't a perfect fix; he only concentrated on the more important memories. The minor once would have to be dealt with later when there was more time.

Once the task was finished he pulled away from the man and moved on to the others who were looking at him in bewilderment. Once that was finished, he started running again, leaving the group in a very confused and dazed state.

After that he came upon a group in the middle of combat, ten to five, the rebels being outnumbered. It was just then that the ground started to shake. Unfazed, he bolted towards them as they lost their balance and fell to the ground. Latching onto their foreheads he worked his magic and restored their memories.

He was about to continue on when he noticed a man lying on the ground. It was Gray's friend, Ren, still lying where he had left him. He hurried up to him and began shaking him awake.

"What?" Ren mumbled, groggily. As Casey's features became clearer to him, he jolted to his feet and took several hasty steps back, only to lose his balance due to the earth still shaking.

Casey saw the panic starting to set in the man's features as he took in the shaking ground and the sounds of battle. He frowned; that was not what he needed right now.

"On your feet soldier!" he ordered.

"What is going on!" Ren yelled, glaring at him to hide his fear.

"You don't need to fear me. Gray used the memory restoration spell and I'm on your side now. I'm trying to fix the mess I made, but I'm going to need your help."

"How do I know that?"

"I can't waste time trying to convince you!" Casey growled, "The city's under attack! Whether you believe me or not you should still stand up and defend it."

Ren took a good look around. Finally taking it in, he stood to his feet. "What do you want me to do?"

"You used to be one of the kings men right? Round up some of your old buddies and have them send the rebel army towards me! I'll be at the king's castle. Herd them over there and make sure you don't kill anyone if you can avoid it. They should already be headed that way, but we need to make sure they all get there."

"But everyone's gone crazy since I left. They won't listen to me." Ren protested.

"Those ones might." Casey gestured at the king's men that were still sprawled out on the ground.

Before Ren could ask another question he took off again, not sparing a second glance and he headed straight for the castle.

Hesitantly, Ren approached the men that looked more confused than he felt. He recognized two of them right away. He took hold of the one he knew best and helped him to his feet. The shaking had died down now and they could more or less keep their balance.

"Ren?" the man asked hesitantly. He clutched his head and stared up at him with glossed over eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you went back home years ago."

"We can play catch up later. Right now I need all of you to help me defend the city."

They all stared up at him, still confused.

"The cities under attack."

"Yes." he gestured to the rebels who were watching them in confused fascination. "We're under attack by these men. We need to force them towards the king's castle. Where's your commanding officer?"

They all gave each other quizzical looks then turned back to him and shrugged.

"Never mind. Just get up and start spreading the word. I'll do the same. And remember, enemy's are being controlled by something, don't kill them if you can help it."

They more or less seemed to get the message and stood to their feet. Ren nodded, then turned on his heels and headed into the fray.

* * *

"Perhaps he's gathering his strength before he finally breaks through?" Gray wondered aloud as he stood there and waited.

Minutes passed and he began to doubt whether this was the right place or not. Finally there was movement. It was only a slight shudder, like the first time he had felt it, and he barley sensed any energy. It died down after a few seconds only to start up again after a few more.

Gray tensed and held his breath in anticipation. Although you couldn't seem them through the sleeve of his coat, the dark markings began to appear on his arm, signaling that he was ready to use his devil saying magic.

The shaking ceased, but Gray could still sense the evil energy pouring up from the ground. He stared intently at the spot where it was the strongest, his hands itching to cast a spell.

Seconds passed before the earth suddenly cracked right underneath his gaze. The whole city shook like it was just a toy set a toddler was playing with. The two buildings on either side of Gray collapsed in on themselves creating a cloud of dust and snow.

Gray fell to his knees, while forcing himself to keep one eye open. He could barely see the crack begin the grow through the cloud. It broke apart the earth with a sickening sound. He crawled closer to it as quickly as he could. Then he saw it. A black spot that stood out from the white snow, crawling up from the earth. It had a rather gangly form that he couldn't quite make out yet.

From the energy being emitted by the being it was obvious to him what it was. Putting his hands together, he formed a bow out of his devil slayers magic and sent an arrow flying straight towards the demon. He saw the demon turn, then dodge his attack at the last second. Remember Casey's warning to kill the thing as quickly as possible he sent another attack at it. It dodged that one as well then fled from him, disappearing for a moment behind the cloud of dust.

Gray cursed under his breath, then took pursuit. The quaking and the dust were slowly starting to fade and he could begin to see clearly. He could now make out the demon much better. It had pitch black skin that was covered in some kind of ooze. It had two legs and four arms and was running on all six limbs. A long, thin tail whip behind it as it ran. But the thing that surprised Gray most was the fact that it was no bigger than a man. How did something that small shake the earth so violently?

The demons seemed to be rather disoriented. It would trip over its own limbs and bumped into things as it ran, giving Gray the advantage and letting him catch up rather quickly.

He threw his hands together, frantically trying to think up a better attack. Picking one he set the spell in motion. He felt the familiar coolness around his hands then—nothing. The spell vanished without the enactment of his will, causing his heart to skip a beat. He stared blankly at the demon in front of him. The demon's head turned and Gray caught a gimps into it's eyes; its beady, red eyes, and the cold hit him.

Gray had never felt truly cold since his training with Ur, but he never forgot the feeling. The feeling of being chilled right to your marrow and feeling like you were slowly being turned into a stiff corpse. He felt it again now. It started in his hands and quickly spread to the rest of his body like a spray of water. His eyes shot open and he gritted his teeth together to hold back a shout.

Frozen in place, he stared at his opponent as the demon grind to a halt, then slowly turned around to face him. It let out a long, drawn out, grown as its body started to change shape. Muscle began to grow and fill out its thin frame, causing it to grow nearly triple its original size. It let out another growl, this time sounding like a mocking chuckle, before it bolted forward, charging at Gray with shocking agility.

Its movements were so fast Gray barely had time to form a defensive spell, but just as it was ready to take shape, his magic again failed him and he was hit with another wave of cold. As his body temperature dropped he was struck with the full force of the demon's attack. Two of its long arms slammed into him, one hitting his stomach, the other his head.

He was hurdled backwards ten yards. Both the cold and the blow had slowed his thinking. It took him several moments to process what had happened before he finally stood back up on shaking legs. He glanced around and realized that the demon had again fled. He shut his eyes, trying to sense where it had gone.

* * *

He was getting too old for this. He cursed as he felt his side start to burn, but kept running. He had yelled at anyone he ran into and they seemed to listen to him more or less. From what he gathered it seemed like they hadn't been given any orders at all and were happy that someone finally had an idea of what to do. That last wave of earth shaving had left everyone in a complete panic.

"Ren!" he glanced up when he heard his name being called. His eyes widened when he saw Grim running towards him looking completely panicked.

"Old man!" he exclaimed, rushing over to him, "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

Grim fell to his knees, panting. "I was at the palace. I just found out that the prince had been captured and was going to be executed." he said through pants, "I was hoping to find Gray and get his help. Where is he? Why is the city being attacked?"

"I don't know where Gray is, but I think he's all right. He used your spell on Casey and it seems to have worked. The man's out there now, trying to protect everyone."

The old man stared at him in bewilderment. "It worked, really?"

Ren nodded. "I'll explain more later. For now we should go save the prince. I have a feeling Gray's busy with his own problems right now."

* * *

Erander cringed and bit the inside of his cheek to keep the screams in. He tried to force himself not to think of the pain as his back was struck again and again. He could feel the hot blood pouring down his legs and wondered how much longer this would continue. He had thought it would be over when the earthquake happened, but he was only given a brief moment of rest.

He tried to think of what could be happening had hoped that everyone was all right. Was Ren able to find Gray? Had the wall been taken down? He tried to think, but was in too much pain to find any answers.

Another strike hit his spine and he let out a scream. He bit his tongue, cutting himself off in mid cry. The taste of blood filled his mouth and he moaned for the torture to stop. The man standing behind him did not comply.

Three more strikes and his vision started to blur with the loss of blood. Just as he was wondering if he was going to beat to death the ground started to shake again, this time more violent than all the others. If he wasn't already lying on the floor, he would of surely lost his balance.

He shut his eyes, preparing to wait until the tremor stopped, but instead he was roughly grabbed by the arm and pulled to his feet. He wondered why he was being forced from the room, then saw the shaking walls and realized that this thing could collapse at any second. He tried to walk as best he could, but still had to be dragged most of the way. He was pulled out of the room and up several flights of stairs before they reached the ground floor of the castle.

He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He closed his eyes as fatigue set in. Minute's maybe hours passed, he wasn't sure, but it felt so nice to just lay there he didn't want to ever move again.

"What is he doing here?"

His eyes shot open at the sound of his father's voice. He turned his head, seeing the king's red face coming towards him.

"It was unsafe down there." the man explained.

The king ignored him and set his hard gaze in Erander.

"Shall we finish your punishment up here, son?" he asked, reaching down and grabbing the boy by the hair. He pulled him to his feet only for him to collapse again.

The king growled, then turned to the man. "Bring him along." he ordered and began walking.

* * *

Like he had expected, the entire army slowly began to show up in front of the king's castle. After several minutes he quickly began to regret his decision. Sure, it was safer for the city to have them all in one place, but taking them on all on his own was more than a hassle. Thankfully, most of them still thought he was on their side and didn't put up much resistance.

Casey was currently right in front of the castle with a horde of soldiers surrounding him. The king had blocked off the entrance. The army had no means of breaking it down, and we're currently trying to find other ways to get inside. They were acting like insects, all with a single goal but with no clear plan, simple acting because that was what they were told to do.

At least the ones he hadn't gotten to yet were trying to get in, the ones he had gotten to were milling about in a confused daze. He briefly checked his magic energy, wondering if he would have enough left to get to all of them. He guessed he would but just barely.

"Hey!" he heard the call from behind him and turned around. There was Ren running towards him with Grim following behind.

"We need to get inside!" Ren said once they were in speaking distance.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"The prince is going to be executed soon. We need to try and save him."

"It's lock pretty tight. Besides, I would think the king would be too busy to carry out an execution."

"I wouldn't be to sure about that." Grim said after finally catching up.

Their conversion was broken as the cry and yells all around them suddenly spiked. With a turn of the head took in what had caused this. A black demon nearly five times the size of a man was running towards the castle. In an instant he was standing before them. Everyone was running except them, they just stood there and stared in awe at the demonic monster.

"_Your hatred in blood lust is more satisfying than I imagined_." Casey heard the demon speak in that familiar voice. He cringed and took a step back.

"What is that doing here?" he heard Ren whisper.

"He's here to feed on the soldier's hate." he explained, "You need to go find Gray. Something must have happened to him. He was supposed to take care of the demon."

"What about-"

"I'll handle everything else, now go." Casey cut him off.

Ren nodded and turned to run back in the direction the demon had come but suddenly froze.

"What are you waiting for go!" Casey yelled.

"But Gray's right there!" Ren yelled back as he pointed ahead.

Sure enough, there was Gray running at top speed towards the demon.

Casey breathed a sigh of relief. But it was short lived.

"_So there you are!_" the demon growled, turning its head to fix its glowing red eyes upon him. "_Your rebellion against me has not been forgotten, although it couldn't stop me._"

Casey said nothing, he was too busy trying to come up with a way to beat this thing. Apparently Gray wasn't strong enough to do it on his own. But he himself didn't have any offensive magic. How could he help?

"Look out!" he heard Gray's voice yelling at him than a sheet of ice appeared in front of his face before the demon's massive body slammed into it. It staggered back a few steps before turning upon Gray, who was standing a few feet away, arms out in front of him after just casting a spell. The ice mage suddenly let out a gasp and fell to his knees.

"Gray!" Ren exclaimed as he rushed towards the ice mage.

Casey turned his attention back to the demon. It was growing again after absorbing all that hate. It let out a monstrous roar as two huge, bat-like wings sprouted from its back. Its whole body shuddered as it spread the wings wide, then it opened its ugly mouth to speak again.

"_Finally, after all these years I can fly again!_"

With another roar it began to flap its wings, creating a wind that nearly knocked him off his feet. Within seconds it was in the air, flying higher and higher. Casey watched it go as a feeling of utter dread settled within the pit of his stomach.

"Gray!" Ren yelled. The ice mage was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness and was trying to keep him awake.

"So cold." Gray muttered as he tried to keep his eyes opened.

"What?" Ren asked in disbelief. "Your an ice mage. You can't get cold, right?"

Grim came over and knelt down next to Gray. He picked up the boy's hand, bringing it close to his face. Ren looked over and gasped when he saw the condition of the limb. It looked swollen and from the fingers to most of his wrist the skin had turned a sickening shade of red.

"Frostbite." the old man muttered.


	17. Freezing Flesh

Chapter Seventeen: Freezing Flesh

* * *

"Gray!" Casey called out the ice mage's name as he moved to kneel down next to him.

He placed a hand against the boy's forehead and shuddered as he felt the freezing cold skin.

"This isn't good." Grim muttered, "We need to warm his hands up right away."

"Gray, you need to stay awake." Casey ordered, shaking the ice mage's shoulders to try and keep him from blacking out.

Gray moaned before opening his eyes. "What happened?"

"Ah!" he gasped when he tried using his hands to prop himself up. He quickly brought his hands up to his face and cringed when he took in the swollen flesh. "What happened?"

Grim tore a strip of cloth from his coat, then wordlessly grabbed one of Gray's arms and began wrapping it up to try and protect it from the cold.

"This doesn't make sense." Casey muttered, "I was sure your magic would work on him."

"What do you mean? Why didn't it work?" Gray demanded.

"I not sure you exactly it would have worked, but Vaeyog seemed certain that your magic could do him in." Casey explained, "But it seems he was able to take control of it and turn it on you just like any other magic—no-no wait. He only attacked you with cold, right?"

Gray nodded slowly, wondering what the memory mage was getting at.

"He attacked you with the temperature aspect of your magic instead of with the solid form, ice. That must me he can't control it fully. So this could still work."

"But I couldn't even land a hit on him." Gray growled in frustration, "He would grab hold of my magic before I could even cast a spell. I was only able to cast that last one because you had him distracted."

"Who are you talking about?" Ren asked in exasperation. He had been looking back and forth between the two as they spoke, growing more and more irritated at not being filled in.

"That demon that just attacked us." Gray stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, I understand that, but what exactly was it doing here and where did it come from?"

"I'd like to know that as well." Grim muttered as he released Gray's bandaged hand and took hold of the other and began wrapping it up as well.

"We'll explain later." Casey said as he stood to his feet. "Right now we have an army to stop and a prince to save. Gray do you think you could get us inside?"

"You want me to bust down the door?"

Casey nodded.

"As long as that monsters not here to mess up my magic it should be easy enough."

Gray took his hand back from Grim, nodding a thank you to the old man. Ren helped him to his feet and he walked on stiff legs over to the sealed entrance. As he summoned his magic he half expected the cold to hit him again but it never came.

"Ice Impact!"

The wooden door splintered and fell apart as the ice crashed into it.

"You two, get inside and help your friend." Casey ordered, pointing at Ren and Grim, "All follow you in a minute after I tell Gray my strategy."

Ren hesitated on following the order. He gave Casey a suspicious look, not wanting to leave him alone with his injured friend. Gray had to give him an affirming nod before he would follow the old man through the massive hole in the door.

"You have a strategy?" Gray asked once they were gone.

He nodded.

"Gray?

Casey's voice seemed to dip five octaves deeper, causing Gray to stiffen. He looked straight into the ice mage's eyes and asked.

"Will you let me into your mind again?"

Gray blinked. Let him into his mind? Again? He cringed as he remembered all his experience with Casey forcing himself inside his head.

"I promise I will not mess with anymore of your memories." Casey reassured him.

"Then what other reason would you have to go in there?" Gray asked, his voice unintentionally harsh.

"I know something that might help you defeat Vaeyog. Simply relying it to you would take too long and you probably won't understand it fully that way. Please Gray."

Gray looked into the man's pleading eyes and sighed. "What is it?"

"When Ur and I were first married, she let me look at her memories." Casey explained, his voice growing softer as he spoke, "It was a gesture, a way for her to show how much she trusted me. I remember them now after you restored my memories for me. There was this technique she learned, one that would let her endure the most extreme cold. I can relay it on to you, it should help you right the demon, if you'll let me of course."

Gray let out a weary sigh, "I suppose I've trusted you this far. You can't do much more damage to me, now can you?"

"So you'll let me do it?"

He nodded.

Casey smiled slightly at him. "Good, now close your eyes. This won't take long."

* * *

Perhaps going straight through the front door wasn't the best idea. As soon as Ren and Grim stepped inside, they found themselves surrounded by the castle guard who seemed rather surprised at only seeing two men and not a battalion of rebels.

Ren looked over at the old man to see if he had a plan. He had no idea what to do next. No way was he going to fight off all these men.

"It's all right." Grim shouted so everyone in the vicinity could hear him, "The attackers have scattered. I need to speak to the king."

"Lord Grim, how did you break through?" someone asked.

"There's no time for that now. I need to see his majesty immediately. Where is he?"

"In the main hall." a man who appeared to be in charge stepped forward, "Rowan, take him."

He pointed at a young looking man who nodded and gestured for the two of them to follow him. They followed in step behind his long strides.

"I forgot you were some kind of big shot." Ren muttered.

"It does come in handy sometimes. I just hope we're not too late." Grim replied.

They turned a corner and stepped through a pair of large wooden doors. What they saw on the other side caused the old man's knees to grow weak and Ren to immediately rush forward. He shoved their guide out of his way as he hurried to get to the prince who was lying motionless and bleeding on the ground. A man was towering over the helpless boy, sword in hand, ready decapitate him.

He heard Grim cry out behind him, which caused the man to freeze and glance up at them. Ren took the opportunity to put himself between him and the prince. The man ignored Ren for the moment and turned to look at Grim.

"You old codger, what is your scheme this time? Are you here to save your precious prince?" the man asked in a mocking tone.

"Your majesty, I implore you, don't lay a finger on your son. Your mind is not as it should be." the old man begged.

"'Your majesty'?" Ren turned to look at the man a bit more closely. "You're the king?"

The king raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't even know who you were threatening?"

"You're sick." Ren growled.

The king ignored the comment and turned to his guard. "Seize him and the old man."

Ren's gut twisted as he realized just how many royal guards were in the room. He had been so hasty to protect the prince that he hadn't even noticed the twenty or so armed men. Now they were all coming at him and he had not the skill nor the energy to fight them off. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

"Grim, I'll hold them off while you get Erander out of here." Ren yelled only to look over and see that the old man had already been wrestled to the floor and was being held in place by one of the guards.

He growled in frustration and sent a fist into the face of the nearest guard, only to receive a kick to the gut in return. He doubled over, realizing just how slow his body had become with exhaustion. Still, his pride wouldn't let himself go down so easily.

Forcing his body to straighten, he lashed out, sword flashing, and struck the man's armored arm. The man reeled back and Ren was just about to step forward and strike again when something hard rammed into his spine and he it the ground. In a split second he felt two bodies press on his back, holding him down.

He struggled against them but was only able to turn his head just enough to get a clear view of the limp body of the prince. Soon he too fell limp. Everyone fell silent as the king drew his sword and silently walked over to his son.

"Now this can finally be over." the king growled as he raised his weapon.

He hesitated before the finale blow, however, as the boy began to stir. Erander's eyes fluttered open before darting around the room. He lifted his head, his mouth open in horror at what was before him.

The king's face showed no emotion. Tightening his grip on the sword he raised it again.

"...please." Earnder managed to choke out, but his plea landed on deaf ears.

"Stop right there!"

Again the king's actions were halted as one of the guards cried out. He turned to see Casey walking over to him. His guardsman immediately moved to stand in his way.

"What are you doing here?" the king barked.

"Me? Why I'm here to surrender." Casey stated casually, "But first, I believe things will proceed much more smoothly if your memories are put back in order."

"Seize him." the king ordered and the guard immediately moved to capture the mage.

Ren couldn't help but smile as he watched the man's swift movements as he worked his magic and restored the guards memories.

"Call for reinforcements!" the king yelled.

"Don't bother." Casey called back, "I've all ready taken care of your men out front."

Panic swept over the monarch's face as the memory mage pressed his palm to the last man's forehead and then pulled away, leaving him, like the rest of his comrades, in a complete daze. Without a moments hesitation the king turned on his heels and fled.

No longer being held down, Ren stood to his feet and swiftly moved to cut off the king's escape. The larger man tried to barrel past him, but he wasn't going to allow that. Reaching out a hand, he clasped him firmly by the shoulder and spun him around to face Casey who had already caught up. The mage wordlessly pressed a blame to his forehead and closed his eyes.

The king's body went rigid and the sword he was holding fell to the ground with a clang. They stayed frozen like that for almost a minute. Casey had to take his time with this one; the king's mind was especially messed up and he didn't want to risk damaging it.

Finally, he pulled away and the man collapsed to the floor.

"What... What happened?"

They all turned at the cocked words and saw Erander sitting up and staring at his father with tears in his eyes. Grim had already moved next to him and was helping him keep his broken body propped up.

"It'll be all right now." Casey gave the boy a reassuring smile.

* * *

Finally, he was starting to warm up again. After running for over an hour his body had returned to it's normal base temperature. He was busy skirting around, not really feeling like he was getting anywhere. When he'd feel even the slightest twinge of demonic energy he'd change course and charge in that direction.

Judging from how often he had changed course it seemed that the demon was just flying every which way, making it hard to pinpoint his location. And he needed to do that in order to kill him as soon as possible.

Time was still not on their side as Vaeyog grew more powerful by the minute. Even if the odds were slightly evened now he still needed to destroy the monster quickly.

As he ran, he went over in his mind what he needed to do. The knowledge that Casey had given him would prove useless, he he didn't figure out how to use it.

He shuddered at the memory of letting Casey enter his mind again. It wasn't painful, at least not compared to the times before, but it was still unnerving.

It was also different for when he had shown him that memory of Ur before when he had crashed into their hideout. It didn't come to him as a flashback; rather, he had to seek it out. He had placed it there in his mind where it was stored away with all his other memories. He simply had to tell his brain to find it and there it was.

As he examined the information further, he gathered that this technique had taken Ur years to perfect. His stomach clenched at the thought of borrowing all her hard work and using a skill she had worked so hard to acquire without going through any of the same training. He doubted he would even be able to perform it on the first try. He'd just have to wait and see.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the demon's prescience right above him. He looked up just in time to see the winged monster fly right over his head. Turning on his heels, he headed back the way he had come.

He kept his eyes on the demon, trying to predict his movements. A shot like that would be hard to make but not impossible. Calling upon his devil slayer magic, he readied an attack. He went with a simple bow an arrow, not wanting to risk anything more powerful just yet. He aimed for a bat-like wing and fired. It hit.

The demon let out a horrific roar as the icy projectile shattered the bone in its wing. It flapped its wings violently as it came crashing to the ground.

Without wasting a second to congratulate himself, Gray bolted forward. He waited for the demon to send his magic back at him, but he didn't; it seemed he had managed to catch it off guard.

Gray stopped a good thirty yards from where the demon was crouched on the ground, broken wing hanging limply off its back. He was bigger now, nearly double what he was before he flew off.

"You're going to pay for what you've done to my homeland, demon. And this time you won't be able to escape into the earth."

Gray tried to make his words sound a menacing as possible, but a hint of fear could still be heard in them.

"_You surprise me human._" this was the first time Gray had heard the monster speak and he couldn't help but shudder at the icy tone, "_I thought you would have retreated to go lick your wounds before chasing after me._"

Gray didn't answer. He needed to concentrate. He would need to get this right if he didn't want to end up as a frozen corpse.

Closing his eyes, he again called upon his devil slayer's magic. The demon didn't even give him the chance to think up an attack before he seized control and sent the cold to consume him again. He gasped and fell to his knees. For a second his mind blanked on what to do.

'_You can't fight the cold if you want to learn ice magic; you need to embrace it._'

Those words Ur had said to him when he had first begun training with her echoed in his mind, bringing him back to focus on what he needed to do.

'_Embrace the cold_' it was the principle behind the technique, behind all ice magic really. And yet his instincts told him to fight it. His body tried to warm itself up of its own accord. He was a warm bodied mammal after all; How do you tell your body to stop producing heat to fight against the cold? Yet Ur had managed to do it, and the circumstances he was in now, demanded that he do it was well.

He let his mind go back to the memory Casey had given him and tried to make his body absorb the cold just as his teacher would have done. He felt slightly colder but that was all. Did he do it wrong? Should he feel any different?

He was pulled from his thoughts as a black blur lunged at him. The demon's movements were some much quicker than before. He barely had the change to leap out of the way as a clawed arm slammed into the ground, sending dirt and snow flying into the air. The monster seemed stronger now. He needed to keep his mind and body moving quicker if he wanted to stay alive.

He was barely on his feet again when something cut into his back. He clenched his teeth in pain and turned his head to see the demon's tail whip in front of it to strike out at him again. He jumped back and avoided the hit before trying to cast a spell. When the cold hit him again, this time it completely numbed him. He could no longer feel the ache in his body or the fresh wound on his back.

"Take it in, don't fight it." he muttered to himself.

He froze when he heard his own voice. It was so quiet. In fact everything was quieter now. Was the cold affecting his hearing?

The monster was coming at him again and he leaped out of the way just in time to avoid the piercing claws.

At least that was what he told his body to do. Yet his limbs did not immediately respond. Only a split second after he sent the command did they move, but by then it was too late.

The sharp claws dug into his side, ripping him open. This time he felt the pain; in the back of his mind, he could feel it, but it was in no way distracting. He looked down at the wound. Three stripes, a quarter inch thick and half a foot long. Out of habit he tried using his magic to seal it up, but again, he was stopped.

As the cold washed over him a third time he began to notice the changes in him more fully and it shook him to his core. His vision was weaker and his sense of smell almost gone, but that wasn't what shocked him. With his other senses dulled he could feel his heart beating inside him more clearly. It was faint and slow. In fact, as he listened to it it grew even slower as his vital organ started to freeze.

Under normal circumstances, he would have maybe panicked, but it was surprisingly calming to be in this semi-frozen state; soon to be completely frozen, he guessed, if this continued.

This was how a human could survive extreme cold. It was kind of like the iced shell; freezing his own body and become like ice. It was already slowing his mind and his movements, and making it difficult to fight, but this was the only way he could fight the demon.

The demon attacked again and he failed to dodge it, earning him another set of slashes to his other side. He would need to start thinking ten seconds ahead if he wanted to stay alive. Thankfully, his blood had been slowed so he didn't need to worry about bleeding to death. Not yet at least.

His heartbeat suddenly took a drastic drop. He could barely feel it now. One more shot of cold and it would be frozen completely. There was a change that it would kill him if he didn't do this right. Of course there was, but he had come too far now.

Instead of worrying on that he tried to figure out how he was going to get his magic back out of the demon's control and attack him with it, while also trying to keep his body moving fast enough to avoid its attacks.

His legs were stiff, his whole body was stiff. It felt like he was trying to move through a pit of tar as he forced himself to run. A very, very slow run. This wasn't going to work; he needed his magic and he needed it now.

He tried to summon as much of it as he could in one go; perhaps he could overwhelm the demon and some could slip through his grasp.

It didn't work.

His heart stopped, his body hit the ground, and his vision went white.

He could still move. He vaguely had a sense of his surroundings. He could differently still sense the demon's power. It was coming at him now and he felt it hit.

He needed his magic.

He hit the ground again, but felt no pain. He tried to move, but found he could barely do so. One more hit and this would be over.

The demonic energy was coming at him again. He could see it clearly in this state. It was cold and hungry. He could tell that this thing merely existed to eat away everything in its path like acid.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he forced his hands together, fist to palm. He felt his magic surface, then freeze. The dark energy was taking control of it again and bending it to its will.

Then it hit him. The demon took control of his magic energy when he was in the process of morphing it into a spell. So essentially, he could not take control of what was still inside of him. Gray's thoughts kicked into high gear as he wrestled with an idea. If he hit it with pure magical energy...

Gray didn't even bother to finish the thought as he dug down deep for what remained of his magic. He released half of it; sending it straight towards where he sensed the demonic energy. When he felt the dark magic wave,r he attacked again. Pure magic energy wouldn't kill it. But in that brief moment of distraction he just might be able to finish it with his devil slayer magic.

He didn't even think he would have enough time to form it into a complete spell, so he aimed just to freeze the monster.

His attack hit. At least is seemed like it did. He could sense his magic colliding with the demonic energy for a second, then nothing.

Did he kill the demon?

Did the demon flea?

Either way there was nothing more he could do. Magic now gone, his body began to pull out of its frozen state. It would take a while though; It was winter and there was nothing around to warm him up except for the sun. he hoped that it had stopped snowing at that the sun had come out to shine on him. Even if it hadn't his body was still a lot colder than the temperature of the air. He would thaw out eventually.

Time passed. He couldn't tell how much, but his senses were starting to come back. He could now make out the bright sun above him and hear the wind. He couldn't hear his heartbeat, however. That worried him. He was also worried that after he defrosted his wounds would start to bleed. He hoped someone would come after him and save him from bleeding to death.

More time passed and he was able to move his body slightly. He turned his head to the side and saw a black shape lying motionless on the ground. As his eyes focused on it he recognized it as the demon. No life was in that body now, at least none that he could tell.

So he'd done it?

It was over?

He felt he should be more enthusiastic at that, but all he felt was a small bit of relief. Perhaps he'll be able to feel a stronger emotion once his heart starts to beat again.


	18. Parting Ways

Chapter Eighteen: Parting Ways

* * *

This whole place was sickening; the air, the people, the entire atmosphere of Isvan made him feel physically ill. It wasn't a necessary part of his search for Gray he would have given up on talking with anyone, and avoided their rudeness all together.

He could tell that no of this was natural, and the more time he spent there the more he understood why these people needed the ice mage's help.

The first clue Gildarts found was a stack of papers a barmaid had been reading in some rundown pub. Someone had mentioned seeing Gray enter the place and it seemed he had left the novel Lucy had given him at the place.

After questioning the barmaid she said that Gray had been taken by the rebel army. This was the first he had heard of the rebels and he had to ask around before he got the scoop on what exactly was happening in Isvan. It seemed Gray had gotten himself tangled up in a civil war. So, in order to find Gray he searched out the rebel army, which lead him in the direction of the capital.

He hoped for Gray's sake and for the rest of the guild as well that their beloved ice mage was still alive and whole. The master had told him what kind of risk Gray was taking. If Gray were to have his memories of Fairy Tail corrupted it would tear him apart. He knew Fairy Tail was one of the biggest things that kept Gray going.

If by some cruel fate, that had already happened, and Gray no longer was the person that they knew it would be an incredible risk for anyone from the guild to go after him. The master had sent him because one: he had spent very little time at the guild so Gray would have fewer memories of him that could potentially be used to turn him against him, and two; his skill still outmatched the ice mage, so he was at minimal risk of being hurt by him.

He had a feeling that this journey was nearing its end when the capital came into view. Taking in the look of the place, something had already gone down. It looked like an earthquake had taken a stroll downtown. Breathing in a huff of air, he made his way past the broken wall. Time to find someone who could give him some answers.

* * *

Gray reached a hand up and placed it over his heart. He smiled when he felt it, it was the faintest of heartbeats, but it was there. That was one less thing to worry about. He still couldn't move very well, so he just lay there, listening to his heartbeat as it every so slowly speed up.

Of course he knew that this wasn't necessarily a good thing; once the blood was once again being pumped through is body it would start to drain out through the numerous cuts he bore, and he hadn't the magic energy to seal them up.

Sure enough, as his body warmed up, a puddle of blood began to form around him. He tried thinking of some way he could save himself, but his thoughts as well as his vision were starting to grow fuzzy. He fought to stay contentious, but was slowly becoming less and less aware of his surrounds. He only vaguely noticed when someone came up to him and lifted him up into his strong arms. Then everything went black.

* * *

The first thing he felt was pain, nothing but pain, a sharpness at his sides and back as well as a soreness all over his body. As he slowly grew more accustomed to it, he could feel something else that surrounded him; warmth.

It seemed like forever since he had felt warm, and it gave him an odd sense of comfort. He pried his eyes open and looked around for what was generating the heat.

He was laying in a small room, next to a roaring fire and wrapped up nightly in a thick blanket. He tried pulling the blanket off only to discover that his fingers were being restrained by something. He pulled his hand up to his face and found that his arm had been wrapped in a thick layer of cotton. He then remembered getting frost bit and the fight that happened afterward.

So, did Ren or someone come looking for him and bring him back to the capital? He wished someone was there to tell him what happened.

"Hello! Is anyone there?" he called out, his voice was strained.

He heard footsteps, then someone came rushing into the room, someone who's face, he immediately recognized and it sent of jolt of unwanted fear into his heart.

"Gray, is everything all right?" The man asked.

"Gildarts!" Gray gasped.

He threw the blanket off and tried getting to his feet, only to discover how weak his body was and to come crashing to his knees.

"Don't try to move, idiot!" Gildarts yelled and rushed over to him.

"Stay back!" Gray warned, trying to move his fingers so he could cast a spell, but the wrappings kept them in place, "Don't come near me!"

The man immediately took a hesitant step back, cursing under his breath.

"Ga! That was stupid of me." he growled, slapping his own forehead. "Sorry, I shouldn't have come in here right away. I'll leave now." the man nodded in apology and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Gray stopped him.

Gildarts cautiously turned his head to look him in the eye.

"Sorry, you just startled me. You're from Fairy Tail right?" Gray asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Gildarts nodded. "Fairy Tail is my home." he hesitated before adding, "And it's yours as well Gray. You know those memories in your head aren't real right?"

Gray nodded and Gildarts breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Thank goodness. That Casey guy said that you understood that, but I wasn't so sure."

The ice mage gave him a quizzical look, "Who are you exactly?"

"Huh?" the man cocked his head at him.

"I'd like to know. I recognize you, but since my memories are no longer reliable..." his voice trailed off.

Gildarts turned around fully again and sat down on the floor, still keeping a safe distance away from the other.

"My name is Gildarts Clive, and if you would ask the people at Fairy Tail they'd tell you that I'm the strongest one in the guild. Although, I'm not so sure if that's true anymore. Some of you youngsters have come pretty far in the past few years." he chuckled a little then continued. "I've made far too many mistakes in my life, but all around I'd say I'm a pretty agreeable guy. You used to look up to me when you were little, and I think you still do, or did.

"So we were friends then?"

Gildarts nodded, "Everyone at Fairy Tail is your friend, Gray. I don't think that there's anyone you didn't get along with, besides Natsu of course. But I wasn't around much so I couldn't say for sure."

Gray flinched at the mention of Natsu.

"How... why are you here?" he asked.

"Well I..." Gildarts started to say, but was interrupted when another person came into the room.

"Gray, you're awake!" Grim exclaimed his face brightened when he saw the ice mage, but it suddenly faded when he noticed the position he was in, "What are you doing up. You should be lying down and resting. We need to make sure you stay warm."

He rushed over and forced Gray to lay back down before draping the blanket back over him again.

"Now you stay put, I'll go tell the others you're awake."

With that, he ran off again before Gray could ask him anything. With him gone, he turned his attention back to Gildarts.

"Were you the one that found me?"

The man nodded, "Everyone was really worried about you so the Master sent me to go looking for you. I followed your trail all the way to the capital. When I got here I began asking around until I ran into your friend Casey. He told me you had gone out to slay a demon. I thought you might need help so I followed you. That's when I found you bleeding your life out and brought you back here for treatment. I was given the whole story while you were recovering." the man shook his head, "You've really been through a lot haven't you Gray."

"I suppose I owe you a thanks then." Gray stated, his gaze fixed on the patched ceiling.

Gildarts shrugged, "That's what guild mates do for each other."

Gray sighed, "I wish I knew what that meant."

He felt his heart ache at the boy's choice of words. He truly wasn't the same anymore was he?

"Maybe you will soon. Casey said that after you woke up, he was going to try and put your memories back in order." Gildarts said, giving the ice mage a reassuring smile.

As if on cue there was a knock on the door and Casey came into the room, followed by Ren and Prince Erander.

The prince immediately ran over to Gray and fell on his knees in front of him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like half my guts have been torn open." he stated flatly.

"Oh." the younger boy's face fell, "I'm sorry."

When Gray saw this he immediately felt guilty. "It's not your fault."

There was a long moment of silence before Erander spoke up again.

"Gray." he said softly, "I don't know how to thank you for what you've done for me. For all of us."

"You're welcome." Gray managed to mumble out, "Is everyone all right?"

The younger boy nodded eagerly. "More than all right. Casey was able to fix everyone's memories. Even mine and my father's."

"But not mine." Ren grumbled, and turned to give Casey a dirty look out of the corner of his eye.

"I told you, your memories were lost due to natural causes, not by magic. I can't fix them, but they should return on their own eventually. They're not buried very deep."

Ren huffed, then looked down at Gray. "You had us worried; you were out for quite a while."

"How long is a while?" he asked

Ren laughed and knelt down to pat his head playfully. "Two days. That must have been some fight. Wish I could have seen it."

As his laughter faded, Gray turned to look as Casey, who was staring quietly at him.

"I heard you were going to try and fix my memories."

Casey nodded. "I will, but not yet. I think you should recover a bit more first. It would put a great deal of strain on you so we should wait at least a few more days."

"If you say so." Gray grunted. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he didn't like the answer one bit, "How long until I'm fully healed?"

"With those wounds you'll be lucky if you're able to walk around after a month." Grim replied, "But the doctor said you should be able to recover fully."

"That's good to hear. Nice to have one less thing to worry about. So what happens next. ?" Gray asked.

"Well, Casey will work on restoring the memories of the rest of the citizens, you're going to concentrate on recovering, and I'll help my father with rebuilding the city." Erander replied.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, looking over at Ren.

"Who me? Well, once my foot heals up I guess I'll help out the king with whatever task he has for me."

Gray then looked over at Gildarts. The old man scratched his head.

"I told the master I'd send word to the guild after I found you."

"You won't be able to get a message through all that snow." Grim informed him. "You'll need to travel to a port city and send it by way of a ship. Too bad we don't have any magical communication devised to make things easier."

"Then I guess I'll do that." Gildarts muttered, then looked down at Gray. "Unless you'd rather I stay here with you."

Gray turned his to the side. Not wanting to look the man in the eye. "It makes no difference to me."

"Is there anything you'd like me to tell your friends at fairy tail."

"I wouldn't know what to say to them." he said softly and closed his eyes. He was still so tired and this conversion was stirring up thoughts that he knew would keep him from sleep.

"Well, I'll be back soon then. Take it easy while I'm gone."

Gray grunted in response and Gildarts turned to leave. Just as he was about to step out the door, however, he remembered something and turned.

"Oh, I almost forgot." he fumbled threw the giant pocket of his coat and pulled out a crumpled stack of papers. "I picked this up on my way here. It's a good story from what I can tell from the little bit I had time to read. You can read it when you get bored of just laying around."

He placed the papers beside Gray then left. Gray opened one eye to glance at the papers, then closed it again. He'd sleep first then read.

* * *

Gray was sitting up in bed, reading the climax of Lucy's story. It had been a week now. Gildarts hadn't gotten back yet, but he expected him back at any time. Ren and Erander would come visit him from time to time, but it was mostly just him, alone in the small room.

At least his wounds were healing nicely. No infections or anything. His hands were starting to return to their normal color and he could move around more easily now without much pain. Other than the novel, there wasn't much else to do. Which he didn't really mind, it was a good story after all.

It was a sort of parody of classic fairy tales. The main character was a princess of your classic fairy tale kingdom. She gets captured by a dragon who takes hre away to his mountain. Her father promised half the kingdom and her hand in marriage to anyone who could slay the dragon and bring her home. The twist is that, the princess and the dragon ended up falling in love with each other.

Of course the princess now had to find a way to protect her love from all the knights that were seeking to kill him. He was just at the part where the princess decided that in order to keep the dragon safe, she would have to leave him and return home, breaking the dragon's heart in the process.

He was just starting to get really into it when there came a knock at the door.

"Come in." he said, putting the papers down.

He had expected to see Ren or Erander come it, but instead Casey stepped through the door. The memory mage hadn't come to visit him since he had first woken up and the ice mage stared at him in surprise.

"Hey." the man said awkwardly, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing fine." Gray replied, "Are you just here to visit or are you finally going to fix me?"

Casey shuffled his feet and drew in a breath. "I'll try, but-" his voice trailed off.

"But what?" Gray asked. He didn't like the way the other was acting. It was clear that he had something to tell him, something he didn't want to hear.

"I might not be able to help you." he finally admitted, hanging his head. "I really sorry. I completely thrashed your memories so I may or may not be able to return them to normal."

Gray drew in a deep breath a let it out slowly. "Can you explain that a little better?" he asked softly, trying to keep his voice under control.

"It-" Casey struggled to find the right way to explain, "My magic doesn't create new memories, it changes the ones that are already there. The closer a memory is to its original form, the easier it is for me to fix. Yours are no where near what they were before. And they were changed so quickly and so violently that I would be afraid to even touch them again; it might permanently brack them and make it impossible for them to ever be the same again. But I'd have to look at them closely to be sure."

Gray turned his head away. Struggling to come to grips with what he had just been told. "Do what you can." he whispered.

Casey nodded, then knelt down next to him. He brought his hand up and placed the palm of it to the others forehead.

Gray stood perfectly still. A minute passed, then ten, then thirty. After an hour the man finally pulled away and he opened his eyes with a sigh. Gray looked into the man's broken features and waited for him to speak.

Casey shook his head. "I'm so sorry. You've done so much for me. Even restored my own memories and I can't even-" his voice broke with a sob as tears poured from his eyes.

Gray looked away, feeling his own tears wanting to surface, but he forced them back. He reached a hand up and placed it on the man's trembling shoulder.

"I don't blame you." he whispered, "And you shouldn't feel sorry for me. Let's just say we're even now."

"What?" Casey looked up at Gray in confusion, "What do you mean even?"

"Well, I-" Gray sighed. "I did cause Ur's life to end. She was your wife after all. Now you'll never be able to see her again."

"You-" Casey narrowed his eyes at him, "You blame yourself for Ur's death?"

Gray nodded.

The man clenched his teeth, then reached over and grabbed Gray's shoulders, turning him until he was looking straight into the others eyes. "I saw your memory of that day, Gray. It was Ur's choice, and that one act must have saved hundreds of lives, not just your own. You have to understand that."

The ice mage sighed. "If you can expect me to understand that then you should understand that your actions were only because you were being manipulated. The balm should rest on that demon, no you."

"I-" Casey fell silent. He slowly closed his mouth and let go of the others shoulders. He moved to sit next to Gray, crossing his legs in front of him.

"I guess we've both done things we regret them." he murmured.

Gray didn't respond, but let the silence continue. He felt his eyelids start to grow heavy as night was slowly creaming up on them. He shut his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, not bothered by the fact that Casey was still there.

The memory mage looked down at the boy was was surprised to find him asleep. Through the rest of the night he wondered if Gray was actually starting to trust him.

* * *

Two days later Gildarts returned. When Gray wasn't sleeping the old mage would come in and answer all the questions he had about Fairy Tail. He didn't know everything since he did spened most of his time on the road, but Gray got a good grasp on the place from what the man did remember.

It sounded like a madhouse to him, but the way Gildarts described it, it also came across as warm and welcoming.

He still had trouble believing it, however. Those false memories still haunted him at night and they still seemed more really than Gildarts's stories.

Casey had tried a couple other times to try and fix his memories, but every time he would look at him and say he was sorry, that there wasn't any way he could help.

"If you would prefer not to have them at all, I can erase them." Casey suggested, "Then you can tell everyone in your guild you had amnesia. You'll never be able to get them back, but you'll still be able to make new memories with your friends.

Gray considered it a moment. "That might be best. At least I'll be able to look everyone in the eye when I get back home."

"That's a terrible idea!" Gildarts cut in.

"Well, it's not your decision!" Gray snapped.

Gildarts eyes widened in surprise at the sudden retort. His expression softened, and he tried to reason with the boy more locally.

"You're right, it's not, but I don't think you should give up so easily."

"It would be better than not being able to sleep at night." Gray growled.

"You only say that because you don't know what you'd be loosing." Gildarts stood to his feet and glared down at the boy, "You need those memories, Gray."

"What do you mean I need them? Why can't I just start over?" Gray glared back.

Gildarts growled in frustration as he stared into those dark, blue eyes. How exactly could he convey it to this boy? How broken, he was when he first came to Fairy Tail? How his friends were slowly able to help him heal and bring joy back into his life. He couldn't just let him start over. To go back to square one again, where his wounds were still fresh and bleeding. He wasn't even sure he even be able to heal a second time?

"It's hard to explain." he finally said, "But those memories were what kept you going Gray. Your friends are what kept you going."

"But I'll still have my friends won't I?" Gray insisted, "From what you told me about them, they don't seem like the kind of people that would leave me just because I don't remember them."

"You made a promise to them." Gildarts snapped back, "When you left Fairy Tail you made a promise, a pledge that everyone member that leaves is supposed to make. You promised them that you would never forget them. Are you going to break that promise now?"

Gray's anger faded and he turned his head away. "I don't remember that." he said softly.

"Does that make it any less significant?"

Gary sighed, "Fine then, I won't erase my memories. Not yet anyways."

"Gray..." Gildarts felt his own anger quickly fade as he looked down at the broken boy. "We're going to do all we can to get your memories fixed. Magic in Fiore is more advance, then what's out here. I'm sure we can find something that will work. I know everyone will do all they can to help you."

Gary simply nodded.

* * *

Weeks passed and Gray's body had healed up enough, he could walk around the city without trouble. As he roamed the streets people would come up to him and thank he for what he had done, calling him a hero. He found all the attention befuddling, and the endless questions slowly began to grate on him.

He gave up on roaming the streets and instead took to walking around the castle grounds. The king came to him personally one day and thanked him profusely for everything. He told him he was glad to help. The king offered to compensate him, but he insisted he keep the money, saying that he would need it after all the damage that was done to the city.

One day he was invited to have dinner with the king. Erander was there, as well as Casey, Ren, and Grim. He ate in silence for the most part, only speaking up now and then to give his two cents into the conversation. Only when the king made a certain comment was his interest perked.

"When will you be ready to depart, Casey?"

"Two days." the man replied.

The king nodded and took a sip of his drink.

"Where are you going?" Gray asked.

"Um..."

"You didn't know?" Ren interrupted.

Gray shook his head.

"Casey's going to travel to every city in Isvan and fix everyone's memories. The kings even given him an escort."

"I need to track down the dark mage guilds as well." Casey said.

"I'll be traveling with him as well, at least as far as my home town. It'll be nice to see my family again once they're finally brought to their senses."

"You'll be leaving soon too, won't you Gray" Erander asked.

"Huh?" Gray was caught off guard by the question.

"You're almost well enough to travel aren't you? You know you can stay as long as you like, but I figured you'd want to go back to your guild soon, since you were so reluctant to leave it." the prince explained with a sad smile.

Gray nodded, "Yeah, I probably should go back soon." he said softly.

* * *

He wasn't ready. He was no where near ready to go back. He wouldn't know what to say to everyone. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to look anyone in the eye without wanting to flinch away.

Gray was sitting on his bed, fumbling through the pages of Lucy's novel. He had already finished it. It ended with the dragon flying back to the princess's kingdom and surrendering himself to the king. Just when the dragon was about to be killed the princess stopped her father by draping herself over the beast's neck. After that she was finally able to convince the king, to see the good in the dragon and he let her fly away with him.

It was a pretty cliché ending, but still heartwarming none the less.

He sighed, wondering how his story was going to end.

He gave the pages one last look before stuffing the novel into his pack. He slung it over his shoulder and headed outside where Gildarts was already waiting for him.

"You ready to go?" the old man asked.

"Yeah."

* * *

**End of Corrupted Memories. The story continues in Restoring Memories. Go to my profile page to find it.  
**


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